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This is tough. I could vote for the entire top 8 from 1985 and be thrilled, but I'm going to say: 1985 Garfield Cadets 1987 Santa Clara Vanguard 1988 Madison Scouts I'd LOVE to see those three shows on the big screen, plus 1986 Blue Devils. Why can't we vote for four?

You people have to remember a few things: 1). You cannot accurately judge performances based on video, especially with set camera angles. 2). None of us on here (I assume) are qualified to judge one caption, much less across the board. I know I couldn't tell the difference between the 1st place and 12th place percussion lines. 3). There is no such thing as "payback". That claim is absurd. Do you really think the judges are going to punish Phantom Regiment because they feel the judges from 1988 did wrong in placing Santa Clara Vanguard 2nd? Come on! They were .4 away from each other. That's pretty much equal. Both had great shows. I still think PR's 1989 hornline was the best I've ever heard, but you cannot argue that Santa Clara didn't have a much more difficult show - musically and visually, and they should be rewarded for performing something so difficult at such a high level. Throw in the rest of the top 6 and 1989 was really spectacular! Remember, there's a reason why none of us are judges, and that's because we we don't have the expertise to judge drum corps! Pure & Simple!

I didn't care for 1998 either! I was suprised that they won DCI and Visual when they couldn't really march....sure the drill and forms were impressive, but the body carriage (bounce, bounce, bounce) was not and the hornline was scored WAY too high!

Um....never say "no one." I for one never understood the appeal of that show!

Ah man, I must say I hate the dolphins (grew up in Buffalo), not as much as the Packers and the Rams, but man I hate them. In the late 80's the Vikings replaced the Bills as my no. 1 team. Still, I had to endure 4 heartbreaking Super Bowl loses and I'm a Vikings fan. So you Dolphin fans - pipe it - you don't know real pain! :P

Like the judges?

That was CLASSIC! I was at the show in 1992 (lived in Madison then). At finals I was sitting in the lower deck, right in front of Phantom. I saw this heavy guy walking around Regiment's ranks and then all the sudden there was the bird. I thought I had been mistaken, so when I got home (set the VCR to record) I fast forwarded to finale and sure enough it was on there. CLASSIC!

I like this years show, based on the ADP or APD, whatever it is. I would say I definitely like it better than their 1998 or 2000 shows. They are actually probably my least favorite Cadet/Garfield shows since I first saw them in 1984. I can't wait for Murphree, when they're all together.

I think 1987 Spirit of Atlanta would qualify too. I think they went from a 77.0 to an 87.8.

BRAVO!!!!!! I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE BAC fan, but I seriously hope they have their lowest placement in years because maybe this #### won't make it back to the field next year. What a HORRIBLE idea! Thanx for the great review...I think you should email your comments to BAC!

IMO, they only need to change the ending of the show visually....musically it is cool and I love it!

That had to be one of the coolest years ever! I used to have the yearbook from that year.

Thanx...I wondered that. Will be interesting to see how they progress. The music is just so WOW though!

Great review. Do you live in Seattle. To be honest, I didn't even notice the amps with BD and SCV...both hornlines were that powerful.

Thanx. Yeah, I was definitely fighting back the tears. It's hard to believe that 15 years has gone by so fast. Say, you I am sure have seen BD in the early season a lot. This is the first time I've seen them before the end of July. Do they typically enhance and alter their visual elements as the season progresses? I just was a bit baffled last night.

INTRODUCTION: I have to say that I got pretty choked up when I arrived at the stadium and saw Santa Clara’s buses. I just miss marching so much that I thought I was going to start sobbing, but I pulled it together. I must also say that most of you know I am a huge Santa Clara fan. However, I feel I was able judge the shows in a fair, levelheaded, and unbiased way. You can read into it as you like, but I think my assessments are accurate. For the first time, at a show, I sat next to newbie’s – Mr. And Mrs. Army I’ll call them. They said they were fans of marching bands and wanted to check the show out. It was a lot of fun to explain the activity to them. Lastly, everyone had the execution problems you’d expect for this time of year, at their respective levels, so I’m going to keep those comments to a minimum. THE CORPS: SPOKANE THUNDER (Exhibition) At only four months old, his may be the newest corps in the activity. I counted 40 hours and they had a good-sized drum line and pit, but no color guard. Hopefully they will put a guard in place in future years and start competing. Their entry on to the field wasn’t uniform. They short of walked on, in a blob, and not in step. Of course, this may not be a big deal, but I always like the uniform march on. They have only been together for 120 days, so these things will likely fall into place as the organization grows. The ballad, John Rutter’s “Magnificent” was beautiful and the horn line generated a good amount of volume. They were warming up when I arrived and sounded really nice. Of course they had a lot of problems visually, which affected their playing, but again – they are 120 days old. They did a variation on a Cavies drill move in the closer, which was pretty cool. 120 days old and already they are taking from the best. Good for them. All in all the show was very enjoyable and I think this group has a promising future. OREGON CRUSADERS (Division III, 1st place, 61.05. Division III certainly isn’t what it was when I was in the Jr. Scouts. I was really impressed by this show. Their drill was pretty demanding for a Division III corps and because of that the execution was rough throughout the whole performance (it’s June remember). Brass wise, they produced a lot of volume for 36 horns, which was really nice. I really enjoyed their ballad and they played the piece very well. The guard was also effective, although the rifle line had quite a few drops. However, the guard was well integrated into the show and I give the all female guard props for using rifles. The flag work was nice and very effective. I thoroughly enjoyed this show and it will be interesting to see how they fair off against other corps in their division. They may place pretty well come Worlds, if they are going. SEATTLE CASCADES (Division I, 4th place, 64.75) I have to say I was kind of surprised that they lost to the Mandarins by such a large margin. It’s possible I thought this just based on size, as they greatly outnumbered the Mandarins. On the starting line, a part of the guard was holding what looked like two poles or two rifles; however, they didn’t do anything with them when the show started. The rest of the guard was on flags or sabers in the opener. The sabre work was really nice and they handled it well. Later in the show the rifle line was very effective – cool work, well designed. I thought the guard had a great impact in this show. There was a flag solo and the guy dropped the ending toss – disappointing. On a side note, there was only one guy in the guard. The rest were women. The drill and music were demanding throughout, and the performance suffered because of it. They had lots of brass issues tonight, including miss attacks and releases. The horn line moves pretty fast during some of the demanding parts, so once they clean their horn scores should improve. Seattle has a very mature and complex show with a ton of room for growth. I am not sure if they will make finals or not, but it’s possible they may not make semifinals. I do think they will pass the Mandarins and never look back, if they clean. MANDARINS (Division I, 3rd place, 66.60) The opening form was very cool. The horns were in a block on the back right side of the field with the guard forming an L around two sides of the block. There was a lone guardsmen standing mid field yielding two swords. As the drums began to play the horns and guard were practically sprinting to the center of the field while the lone guardsmen did some cool martial arts/sword type work. During the sprint, I saw a guard member go down, but she recovered quickly. The initial horn impact was loud and nice as they pushed to a wedge front field. Following the initial impact the horns stood front and center, in a wedge, and hummed for a good 30 seconds, at least. If it was amped, I didn’t notice, but I still did not like it. As the horns started playing and the drill started moving, half the guard was carrying red banners. I found this to be ineffective and they did it for a long period, or so it seemed. The rest of the guard is on sabers and doing very nice work and they nailed their last toss. Guard is now all on red flags, very nice. Horns are cooking…some ensemble problems. Beautiful guard solo begins the ballad. Guard is on double flags – purple and silver – very effective and very nice. The ballad was gorgeous and ended on a lush loud note. Bravo! We now have a solo guardsmen center field again, doing martial arts, as we head into the drum solo. Guard is now using two rifles each – VERY COOL. They are very effective in tossing and spinning two rifles in different patterns. This was one of the guard highlights of the night…the crowd just ate it up. More humming starts the closer, but it is over quickly. I counted about 40 horns, and boy are they good for such a small number. There is a wonderful section with insane runs, during which they are stationary. All in all, the crowd ate up this show. It was very cool and very enjoyable. I absolutely loved this show. It was very entertaining, but from a demand standpoint it just doesn’t measure up to what Seattle is doing, nor does it have as much potential for growth, so I’m not sure if they are going to be able to maintain their lead over Seattle for much longer. BLUE DEVILS (Division I, 2nd place, 79.80) Musically, this show was wickedly cool. The brass line of course is just wonderful and the music book is so interesting, powerful, and quintessential Blue Devils. However, the brass seemed to get weaker as the show progressed, but I’m sure that won’t be an issue for much longer. I would venture to say this could possibly be one of my favorite shows, musically; the Devils have put out in a while. It was a lot of fun, and the ending was very cool musically. I keep saying musically, because I feel the visual product that BD put out this year is going to be a huge liability for them, come finals or sooner. In terms of total package, this edition of the Blue Devils simply falls short. All things equal, which they rarely ever are, I don’t see how this show could possibly beat Santa Clara come finals. In terms of overall package, this product does not hold a candle to SCV’s package. I don’t think the issue is demand. Yes, Santa Clara moves more than BD, not by much, but BD marches at a fast pace quite a lot. So, on an individual basis, I don’t think the demand is anything less than SCV. It is also demanding in the sense of exposure, which ties into the design problems. Almost every single set is either block formations or shallow arcs. Therefore, not only is the design not effective, but all the crooked lines (it’s June) stick out. Frankly, the drill got boring quickly, because it did not tie into the music much and it was block after block after block, then shallow arch after shallow arch after shallow arch, then follow the leader and more follow the leader. There were two really cool drill moves, but that was it. The visual package is simply not effective. The visual shortcomings extend to the guard also. At this stage, they were the best guard out there from a technical standpoint, but they didn’t really impact the show. The female guard members are wearing some type of apron, which just doesn’t look good. The equipment work was by far the best of the night, but the guard was not as well integrated into the show as SCV’s guard was. Not even close. I just didn’t feel BD’s guard was an equal part of the show. The ending was super cool. I just loved it…awesome for a soft ending. However, the horn line forms a blob in the end zone and everyone’s just kind of relaxing and hanging out. There’s no uniformity, which I didn’t care for. In conclusion, unless the Devils make drastic changes to their visual design, I simply do not see how they could possibly win. We all know that BD is extremely successful when it comes to execution, so I am sure this show will be squeaky clean come August, but if SCV is as clean, I don’t think BD will be a threat to them. Then you throw Cadets and Cavies into the mix, and it is the Blue Devils who may find themselves sitting in 4th place come finals. As was the consensous of those sitting around me, this show simply does not hold up to anything BD has done is years. SANTA CLARA VANGUARD (Division I, 1st place, 80.15) We all know that the hype surrounding Santa Clara during the preseason was astronomical. I seemed to be the only one that didn’t buy into the hype. Well, tonight Santa Clara proved that it isn’t really hype, it’s reality. This is the show from Santa Clara that I have been waiting years for (at least since 1999). It has everything a championship show has – it is the total package. This show is passionate, beautiful, graceful, powerful, and just plain stunning. This is as complete as a complete package gets. The guard was rough in spots, not as tight as BD’s, and didn’t have all their work in (seemed to be missing a minute or so in the closer). But, mark my words, if this guard is anything like last years, they will be in contention for best guard come finals. Despite the fact that they weren’t as clean as BD, they were much more effective. The guard is so well integrated into the show, it takes your breath away, especially in the ballad. They are a key ingredient to the overall package, where as BD’s guard seemed to be only an accessory. They are telling a story, and it is done so well. I had heard (or assumed) that SCV’s drill this year was not going to be as demanding as in previous years. I was wrong. This drill reminds me a lot of the drills they have had since 2000. It is very fast, flowing, and has lots of impact points. They even marched double time at the start of their ballad, which was beautiful. They did a move very similar to the collapsing Y from 1999 twice. I did not care for the duplication in the closer, although it was going the other direction, so it looked a bit different. Still, I don’t care for repeated moves because the impact is diminished the second time around. While I think the drill is as hard as previous years, I think the musical book isn’t, and that is the big difference. Musically, their show was not any less demanding than BD’s, but it still wasn’t as insane as the past four years. The horn line is playing extremely well and I would not be surprised if they took high brass tonight. The music is just stunning, from the first note to the last, and the crowd was in heaven. I was so happy when the scores were announced, because although I do think these two are very close, Santa Clara deserved the win. It was nice to see the judges give it to them. Will they win? I don’t know. Could they win? Definitely. This show is nothing short of magnificent…and I think it will be the fan favorite of the year.

I am listening to this show right now and it is my favorite Phantom show, and what I believe to be the most difficult brass book ever attempted. This show is awesome start to finish and insanely difficult...why does no one talk about it?

Thank you for your input. I thought they must have collapsed the first show, but after reviewing the whole season scores, they did get their butts handed to them by a lot of Class A corps. What a great story. I love stuff like this. What a cool finish that must have been for them. Did you judge Quarters too? Looks like they slipped a bit in Semis.

Thanx, it's always nice to read a post from someone who is on the in. It will be interesting to see how you guys and Scouts measure up to Cavies! Did you see the shows, or were you in one of the bars? Kidding - but seriously, it would be great to hear your thoughts on Madison, Colts, and PR. Not sure who you saw, as I don't know what the performance order was.

How 'bout a plane ticket to the Menomonie show on Sunday?!?!?! B) http://www.darc.us/ I am excited to see SCV the most, but man I would love to see Madison and Phantom. My three favs are Madison, Phantom, and SCV....

Great review! Do you have anything to say about this awful tear in PR's show? The one that apparently affected it so much that it's the only reason Madison won? Just curious, because if it was so disasterous why wasn't it initially mentioned in your review? It certainly doesn't appear to have shown up on the recaps. I must say that your review makes me wish I were there. I love Phantom's hornline (always one of the most thrilling in DCI) and now it sounds like Madison's got a great line too. Must have been a horn lovers night in paradise! I wonder who won brass? My guess would be Phantom, but who knows? Also, can you comment on the visual design of Madison and Phantom? I heard both are much improved over last year. Can you confirm or deny? Will be interesting to see how these two measure up against Cavies. I get to see SCV and BD next weekend, but I would almost rather seen Madison and Phantom!

I remember in 1986 that Les Eclipse opened the season with a 37.7 and finished 14th at DCI with a 83.1. That is a huge level of improvement over the course of one season. Does anyone know why they had such a poor start for a corps that finished 14th in 1985? It's very interesting. Go to corpsreps.com and you can see the scores for that season. It is really unreal.

Well, we didn't have the best brassline in 1988, but we placed 3rd. That's not too shabby. SCV placed 5th in brass and that is ultimately what cost them the title. As far as visual goes - it was amazing. HOWEVER, we threw down our best performance in Semis. I wish they could have gotten that on tape, or rather that it was our finals performance, but I can't complain. Actually, from what the staff said of our pre-finals run-through, that was our best performance. That was the only time that they did not say anything constructive after a run-through. It was perfect. Even-so, we were marching Gods.

You hosed a lot of brass parts in 1988? That is very surprising. The show was wonderful and seemed to be taken almost note for note from Pucinni's 'The Phantom of the Opera'. Kidding - little stab there at ALW. Did you all know that Lord Webber has to pay the Puccini estate royalties everytime the curtain goes up on 'Phantom', which was a result of ALW being sued for the lifted music.

My favorite closer ever is Scouts 1984 - I have never heard anything that rivaled the excitement of the last few minutes of that show.