Wadep66

Why worry? What good does that do. Certainly 2005 wasn't a year where thunderous applause and adoration were showered upon the Cadets after their victory. DCI/Drum Corps didn't implode and the world as we know it still exists. There has to be something for people to gripe/complain/fear/hate/rant about or where would America be? The Cadets are an easy target. If they were doing a show everyone loved, people would likely rant about why Billy Joel on the field is the end of competetive drum corps as we know it. What's next, Brittany Spears?

This is discussed on DCI.org and has been hashed out on here as well. The judges first put the corps in the appropriate performance level "box". They then are charged with ranking them relative to the other corps performing. What happens in Denver is relative to Indy only in the context of the box selected. You cannot directly rank corps based on scores from one show to another. You can go back several seasons and look at the contest comparisons and you will see that this doesn't work. I also think that the judges know there are two weeks left and scoring has levelled off a bit. Scoring at a 93 or 94 at this point doesn't leave much room to increase at finals.

No corps will win more than 4 sub-captions At least 5 corps will place 1st in a sub-caption The winner in quarter finals will not win finals A large number of people will not be happy with the champion and will swear the judging is rigged/slotted/etc (okay I guess that won't be a surprise) 4 of the top 12 will change places from quarters to finals

chunky or smooth

Would be nice to see a review, but apparently no one went to either the Witchita KS, or Lincoln NE shows. Looking at the scores, it appears that: The Music GE judge was lower across the board than the previous night The Cadets color guard had a bad night The Cadets percussion bested PR by a tenth If you look back at score history you see dips. I suspect the BD are still outscoring them, however. It will be a tight top 3 to the finish line. Perhaps a tight 4.

So who won? I can't really figure out who really had the last word. Isn't that what it's all about?

Until DCI puts in some kind of penalty for not touring, live with the result. The other portion of the argument not being talked about is that not touring has its disadvantages from a competetive motivation standpoint. Honestly, I can't see what all the fuss is about. I thought they deserved to be where they were, and based on looking at the captions, it is clear they are being rewarded for executing their show well. Whether or not it is a great show is up to opinion. I preferred the Glassmen's show to both Academy and Colts, but my preference doesn't dictate what place they get. I'm not that important. ^0^ Other thoughts based on my view from Section 314: In general, the acoustics are problematic, and I'm assuming its worse on the top deck than others. Percussion buried the horns and it was hard to hear any articulation faster than eigth notes. I hope that next year, they open the roof of the stadium in Indy to lessen this effect. And narration is completely garbled! Blue Knights: I didn't care for their show AT ALL last year and was prepared to not like this one. However, I did like it, and I thought it was very well done and nicely executed. They have carved a niche for the dark sound and compositions they perform. They are sticking to that identity. I think its probably time to let go of the hand painted flags though. Boston. If we talk about distractions on here a lot, I have to say that the easels are just that. A friend sitting next to me who hadn't seen a show in 10 years made this comment right off at the completion of their performance. While I find it impressive that you can do guard work one handed, I think you could get the artist point accross with a pantomime rather than being so literal. Having said that, I did like the frames and cubist guns. I thought the show was well executed and original. Nothing particularly noteworth musically. Guard very well integrated into the corps. Santa Clara: Loved it! I haven't liked SCV's shows the last few years as I don't care for minimalist music. I really thought a lot of the visual was unique and original. The guard uniform being white on one side and red on the other made for some great visuals during dance movements. Horns and percussion were tight. Nothing real noteworthy about the drill though. A good bit of visual dirt to clean. I suspect they'll stay in about this position. Crown: Now That's a horn line! I was a horn player in high school and college and love the open full sound they play with. I have to say that I believe in the 20 years I have watched corps, this is THE MOST ACCESSIBLE show to a crowd.....period. Ever. My opinion! It was the favorite with those around me and I was thrilled to see them move ahead of Phantom. Yes, they deserved to. I believe if you look at the captions, the judges are really trying to put things in their place regardless of reputation/placement. I'd love to see them move up but I think this is the highest placement they can acheive. Phantom: Beautiful. Well Played. Dirty visually. This show is very well designed and executed, but not nearly on caliber with the big 4. All the running around made it very difficult for the corps to hold intervals and forms. This is going to be difficult to clean. I love Phantom, but I don't see this show living up to the hype I've read on here. Bluecoats: Okay. Fun show. Reminds me of Blue Devils from beginning to end INCLUDING THE UNIFORM (yes I said it again). Bring back the old bluecoats. Best music? I couldn't hear the brass well enough to judge my opinion of this, but I am surprised. Cadets: I love the cadets. Support them. Great show. They play the crap out of it. They march the crap out of it. I couldn't help but be distracted by the guard. They are not on caliber with the rest of the corps and the scores are where they should be on this. I knew what the narration said from seeing the videos and reading it quoted 10 E^6 times on here. Couldn't make out more than 25% of it due to the acoustics. If it isn't audible, it isn't effective. They can win with this show if they can get it together. Blue Devils: Someone said it before. Two words: Totally boring. If you took all the BD shows from the last 10 years, put them in a jar and shook them up, you could pour out the pieces in any order and fit them together and you wouldn't know the difference. They received polite applause in my area after the show even though you'd have thought we were in Concord with the opening reception they received. Try something new PLEASE. My favorite BD show of all time was the show with Happy Days are Here again and Since I fell for You. That was unique and different. I guess continuing that trend was too much to hope for. Cavaliers: I liked this a whole lot more than I did seeing it on the internet. I really like the music. I am a BJ fan and recognized a lot of the snippets. I'm glad they didn't go for a literal interpretation. I like the guard but was surprised they won that caption. I don't see this being a winning show. Thoughts: Cadets or BD will win the championship. Cavies 3rd. BC 4. I think this is the most exciting season competition wise in years. Not a hater. Not trashing a corps, simpling expressing what I like/don't like. I applauded for all and almost stood for all because those kids work their ### off. Love DCI. It's getting better all the time. looking forward to following the rest of the season.

Especially since the show in Baton Rouge is no more. Apparently LSU wouldn't let them use the field and the Memorial Stadium is unsuitable.

Wow. Don't make the mean thing mad! No telling what he might do! Help! Good grief. This is a place to share opinions, not win your way. Go back to your sandbox. Sheesh!

You have to set is up to output the video only the second screen. RIght now, it will only output to your laptop. Go into the graphics media accelerator. Right click on the screen and go to properties to do this. You need to change the settings for the second screen.

thanks Blue Stars for having the cahones to at least have part of your pants white!

I'm really diggin this colorguard! :P

You hate to be the one girl in the guard to drop a toss when the camera is on you!

I had this same problem. Never could get the show to come up via Firefox. Had to open WMP11 and paste in the stream. Was on the chat line with tech support for 1/2 hour! Missed a lot of corps! I'm ######. Also had to log every other computer in the house off in order to get the speed up. They need to put this info in the troubleshooting sections.

Wow. Two of the best posts I've read on here. I'm glad to finally run across a thread that discusses the merits and effects of the narration and the concept of the show without just going on a rant about how much they don't like it. To get the show you have to temporarily turn off your biases and cynicism. I think as was stated, that the intent of the show is to portray the positive development experience that Drum Corps is for almost all that take on the challenge. I disagree that every person who walks through the door is already disciplined and committed to everything they do with the fervor they have to have to be in a competetive corps. If you think you were, you might want to look back and check to make sure you didn't learn ANYTHING during your season. I also don't think it implies that you never again do anything great--- the implication is that you are NAMED WORLD CHAMPION. There is a very small percentage of people who ever get that honor in anything, so don't take it for granted. Many folks cannot put themselves in others shoes and realize that every kid doesn't come from a nurturing loving environment where praise and adolation are showered upon them and they are encouraged to follow their dreams. I often have the displeasure of being around people who are talking about people who are "lazy" or "don't care" or "haven't got any ambition" just because they don't make $X grand a year. Watch the documentary "Hard Corps" about the kid from the inner city who became a champion marching with the Cadets. The activity DOES change lives. You may think it is cheesy, but it is true. Though I came from a decent home, I had to work during the summers to earn money for school, so I couldn't march, though I really wanted to. This was before the internet and the communications around sponsorships--so for those who are so arrogant to rant about "you just have to want it bad enough" , you again need to put yourself in someone else's shoes. One of the few things I wish I had done in my youth was to march. Now I live vicariously through arguing with people about it--and trying to help others get the chance. Does the show work as intended? Depends upon the willingness of the audience member to get it. This isn't the same thing as LIKING it! :)

:OT: Why is it that this "freedom of speach/expression" argument always comes up in the US? Did anyone say this shirt should be illegal? I believe the point was about the poor taste and lack of respect shown by this shirt. If I were to wear a shirt that said F&*( Drum Corps!! and/or carried a sign around at competitions saying the same thing, I doubt folks would clap and say "Great way to exercise your rights". <**>

Well, if PT Barnum was correct, then the Cadets are getting all the free publicity they could ever ask for. From George Hopkins' weblog: > THE INFAMOUS VOICE it's funny that the voice is not taken by many to be part of the program -- all was created together. It was not put in over top, indeed the spaces were created for the voice, and yes, there are times where we want the voice and music to co-exist. That said, we continue the adjustments. Tuesday, we are revamping the entire voice presentation. We are working to leave room for the voice and the music ... this will require ... less words! and more poignant conversation! Most folks love the beginning and the end --- the Martha Graham stuff is a little deep -- we are working on that -- but the middle of the opener is where we tend to pontificate. We decided a week ago to let it sit for a week -- to make sure we had a plan. Now, we will be heading in to make the adjustments Thank god. Now maybe instead of asking the Cadets to shut up some of the blow-hards on this board will shut up! b**bs

Yep, that narrow-minded fans who panned the show at the time have dissapeared and now talk about it as a "classic". There is a post on the DCI home page from a priest who travelled with the corps saying they exited the field crying sometimes because of all the boos. Sounds like something low-class going on in the stands this year. <**> Kind of like after JFK was shot, the public polls showed a much higher percentage of people said they voted for him than actually did in the election. We call this "revisionist history".

Bwahahaha. I can't think of San Antonio without thinking of that movie.

So you know for a fact that the GE music judges don't take the narration into account? I think that's a bit of a leap, and I'm willing to bet that some of the judges have said some of the things that are being said in here. if you can force yourself to watch the 2006 DVD of the cadets and listen to the music GE judge, he does reference the voice and whether or not it is blending appropriately. Since it is audible instead of visual, I think the music caption is fine for judging it without adding another caption.

Wow, you'd think the judges would get tired of counting them. Bet they had writer's cramp at the end of that show.

Based on tonights scores, the gaps are widening. 1- Cadets 2 - Cavaliers 3 - BD 4 - Phantom 5 - SCV 6- BLOO 7 - Crown 8- BAC I don't see a "never before" lineup here.

Seems like a good idea. However, remember that a few years ago there used to be an internet poll for order of appearance in Murfreesboro, and some jack### had to set up a script to fraudulently vote for his/her corps multiple times and they stopped doing it. Someone is alsways trying to cheat the system.

Looks like the Cadets colorguard could be their undoing. The caption rankings aren't up yet, but they're probably at least as low as 6th, maybe lower. This show last night seems to be a much lower score for them. Did they have a bad night, or are they just not improving?

Only show I get to see this year is San Antonio. Will be my first time there. I'm stoked! Have near 50 yard line seats on the front of the top deck. I hope it is still a tight race and not a foregone conclusion. ^OO^