funcorpsagain

Last night was my first live show; until now, I’ve only seen DCI’s live feeds which pretty much kills any chance of establishing an emotional connection with a specific show. First, a rant… Maybe I have slipped into dino-corps, but a design trend in recent years has sucked a lot of the enjoyment out of watching shows. Namely, the sampling of a piece, then chopping it up into some hyper-stylized version that is most definitely not an improvement on the original. I loved Tim Salzman’s arrangements because he stayed true to the original music while still making it drum corps appropriate. Is this drum corps in the age of ADD? Where everything is a jittery, abbreviated mess like a teenager’s text messages? Just predating the “sampling” trend was taking a piece of music and turning it into a bunch of staccato eighth-notes, I guess to make it sound busy and difficult, broken up with ill-placed drum breaks. This unfortunate trend is also still with us. Ok, Quincy… Nice night, packed stadium. We have largely escaped the heat wave in Boston, so no problem with that. Agreed with the placements and spreads. The Class A/Div II/Open/whatever-they’re-called-this-year corps were very young, but with entertaining music selections. About 35 horns each. Was great to hear 7th Regiment play “Enterprising Young Men” from the last Star Trek movie; would love to hear a big corps do it justice. I’ve been around some of the Spartans and their staff for a couple of years, so have a soft spot for them – really good kids. Whole show was “Firebird.” Entertaining, but quite a bit of cleaning to do, and they could definitely benefit from more power. Jersey Surf – Bridgemania. Was not sure what to expect with Kerchner and DeLucia doing junior corps again. It’s a very fun show, with little digression into schlock. The first 60% are from the B’men repertoire, then a couple of other pieces in the Bridgemen style. Opens with an extended “In the Stone” fanfare, then “Land of Make Believe.” The arrangements are modern without suffering from the complaints in the rant. Ballad from “Willy Wonka” is very pretty. Uniforms are the B’men coat style, but solid, uniform dark blue, even the hats. It actually works. A little shuffle, but they don’t overdo it, which was my fear when I heard the theme. Overall, fun to listen to, but not much drill (just like the real Bridgemen). It’s a better Surf than last year, for sure. Wonder what Bridgemen management thinks about the final piece with guard guys dancing and hamming it up on the 50 since they have often stated their opposition to men in the guard. Big standing-O, well deserved. Colts – Nice sound. Nice drill. That’s all I remember. Crossmen – About three years ago, one could always rely on the Crossmen for a horn line that sounded a lot like a wood chipper. Last year (placement aside) they really started to improve their musicality. That has continued this year. They may not make finals, but they're definitely heading in the right direction. Guard looked a lot tighter than last year as well. Crown – Once again, great horns (but not perfect). Some ridiculously frenetic drill moves – seems like a much more substantial drill than last year (not a high bar to jump). Sideline to sideline coverage creates a lot of demand on the musicians. Of course, in the Indy echo chamber, it probably won’t possible to hear whether or not it’s clean. Still too much posing and Tracy-Turnblad-bug-squishing for my taste. Guard was good, but a little messy. Seems like drums have a lot of down time. Percussion is the only category they lost to Cadets, and rightly so. This could be their year, but I have a sinking feeling that DCI will reward a corps with more across-the-board strengths (ugh, BD). An aside… didn’t notice much in the way of pre-show garbage this year. I never really saw the point of pretentious narration, or atmospheric recorded music accompanied by silly posing by the corps. Crown’s pre-show last year is only one I’ve ever found worth watching. Cadets – Here are words I thought I’d never line up in a sentence: The best part of the show is “Jingle Bells.” The show is less offensive than I thought it would be, but “Carol of the Bell” is painfully endless. It’s a Cadet show – big sound, lots of movement, overall very good horn line, but not as musical as Crown. Percussion was much more active and interesting than Crown’s. Guard seemed good when they weren’t being wasted playing with Christmas presents. The ballad (“Do You Hear What I Hear?”) is pretty, but the final Xmas medley is fundamentally uninteresting. The horns have a problem, especially as they get tired, of way overblowing. The blastisimo of the mellos made the closer unbearable. That’s all I’ve got.

Such....precision!

The clip sounds great!

All that reading for three interesting things: 1) Thank you Jimmy for perspective and clarity, as always 2) Thank you John for clarifying what Hoffman knew and when; there's no escaping that he was trying to be too clever by half regarding the rules, and the corps suffered for it (which sux) 3) Thank you Ironlips for pointing how the original poster got the whole premise wrong -- no one got into finals due to the DQ! The tie for 12th place in prelims guaranteed 13 corps in finals (or 12 if B'men had not marched). (Had Garfield been a tenth lower, they might still be regretting the prelims Amen, but we'll never know since it worked out for them!) Bottom line, what happened to the Bridgemen only affected the Bridgemen. Given the situation, I'm still amazed at their finals performance.

I'm assuming that's parody, otherwise it's breathtakingly ridiculous. Do really think people like Don Warren and Jim Jones were in it for the money? Doesn't it make more sense that they were trying to save their corps (and the activity, by extension) from the mismanagement of organizations like the VFW and American Legion? An unrelated comment regarding the thread's name... it's good to see that the inconsistent censors of DCP have finally grown up a little and left it in place. A few years ago they would respond like overactive adolescents with a new toy, hitting the "closed" or "delete" button at the slightest perceived -- not actual -- inappropriateness. Whereas this thread's title is intended as a joke, I posted about an actual occurrence a few years ago: one of the local NYC sponsors of the ESPN DCI broadcast was the Penthouse Club in Hell's Kitchen. The censor shut the thread down immediately. Glad to see that "Hooters" makes the grade!

It's strange that this is being debated. It is knowable and known. 27th may have only been inactive for a few years, but Anaheim, Mighty St. Joe's and Royal Airs had been defunct for much longer; all were well received at DCI. I think you hit the core of the problem -- management has proven inflexible to change, unreceptive to advice, and thin-skinned to criticism. That is the issue that must be overcome, not concerns about audience reception or the abilities of the corps to perform (which is easy to solve by comparison). Also, if they are invited, will they stand by the announced shows for 2012/13? It always seems like a mistake to unnecessarily lock into a multi-year program (ask BAC how that worked). It has a ring of "my way or the highway" as well, shutting down discussion, input, or changing circumstances. But these are solvable problems if there is a will to do so. I hope there is.

Some more perspective to help frame this discussion… First, slight correction regarding the comment above as it pertains to the Cavaliers Alumni Corps…there were some “millennium” (i.e., 2000s) alumni, but they were a small percentage overall. For example, although we had members from all 60 years, we only had one from 2007. The distribution of members was roughly a bell curve centered over the ’79-’84 seasons. There is no right or wrong formula regarding alumni corps, and pretty much all of those that have performed at DCI have been successful and entertaining, perhaps to different degrees. The secret is exploiting the corps’ unique emotional connection with the audience. 27th got the largest crowd reaction for a couple of reasons. First, they performed in front of the largest crowd – Saturday night, upstaging the competition in the opinion of many (maybe that’s why the alumni slot is on Friday now). They also brought back a beloved defunct corps. A bit of an aside… Some “purists” will claim that by allowing non-alumni, 27th wasn’t really an “alumni” corps. So what? The people who were in 27th Alumni all shared one thing – they loved the old Lancers, whether they marched there or not. Furthermore, eastern Massachusetts is unique in the sheer number and density of corps that used to exist; many of the alumni of those countless, small corps were able to recreate a bit of magic under the respected banner of the Lancers, the regional powerhouse. I bring up this point because Bridgemen aren’t an “alumni” corps either, but that should make no difference in whether or not they perform at DCI. Star, Anaheim, and Royal Airs shared the same emotional hook as 27th – resurrecting inactive corps. SCV and Star did basically stand-stills, but they played beautifully and the guard did their thing. Star was helped in that their oldest alums aged out in ’85, so they didn’t have to train piston-rotary alums who don’t read music! Star’s use of the integrated video was also smart and compensated for the fact that, unlike other corps that have performed in the Friday night slot, they had less of an “identity.” This is not a negative comment, just an observation; Star had a short history and changed their look and style often. Their unifying theme was the excellence year after year, but the videos helped complete the story. Madison and Cavaliers (like SCV) represented existing corps and (like Royal Airs and Anaheim) marched full shows. The emotional impact of Madison’s performance is undeniable. The corps has historically been in-you-face, exciting drum corps, so the MSARP was huge and in-your-face, and the hometown crowd loved it. Cavaliers have been so phenomenally successful in the last 20 years, it is easy to forget the other great moments the corps has provided in its 60+ years. So, CAC chose NOT to perform anything from after the ’92 season (Mars and Jupiter were played in ’95, but also in ’85). In addition, a stand-still just wasn’t an option for a corps with the Cavaliers’ visual tradition, so the 1960s opener “Bully” was set to a Mike Gaines drill complete with diamond-cutter at the end – with septuagenerian members. But when you think of the Cavaliers overall, you think of integrated, machine-like execution. In my completely biased opinion, I think CAC had the most balanced and best performed of the alumni shows. The point of this overly-long review is that there a few lessons for the Bridgemen… 1) A Bridgemen DCI performance should be something special, not a continuation of business as usual. The Friday not spot is usually a one-time spectacular. Thousands of DCI fans have seen the Bridgemen at Allentown since ’06; unless the corps is going to do something more than a larger version of that, there’s no need to bring them to Indy. 2) People remember Bridgemen for being wildly entertaining and humorous. But they weren’t entertaining just because of the humor – they were entertaining because they executed fantastically across all sections. Just watch/listen to the shows from ’77-80 (and the drum lines beyond that). Schtick is no substitute for quality. I know several of the members – the good news is, they are more than capable of bumping it to the next level in execution. 3) I agree with others who have said that the current corps needs to vastly improve its visual program and guard over what they have currently. There are definite cultural issues to overcome first regarding the latter. 4) Humor will still be important, but I also agree that things like the San Diego chicken are facile and the reference doesn’t age well. The twin geniuses (Kerchner and DeLucia) are completely capable of coming up with a fresh way of presenting this essential Bridgemen ingredient. I also hope they do it with Surf this year without playing a single actual Bridgmen tune. If Surf does a Bridgemen tribute, then what role is there for the Bridgemen? Finally, I think it is a mistake to use modern corps criteria and recent Bridgemen performances as the indicator as to whether or not Bridgemen are even worthy of consideration. Remember that 27th was created from scratch in two years. CAC and MSARP, although representing existing organizations, created their corps in even less time. The Bridgemen have had an organization since 2005, and that provides a very solid base on which to build. There is no reason to believe that a Bridgemen grand reunion at DCI couldn’t be unique, emotional, and completely entertaining. Of course they should be invited! Rick Bridgemen '06/'07 CAC '08 27 Lancers Alumni '94

I can't find the list of judges for this week anywhere. Even the recap for the Open Class competition says "unavailable."

Hey, Mondocane, I will not remove the quoted post, so stop sending me private messages telling me I "lack class." You are the poster child for why I rarely read or post on DCP, except for right around August. There is such an abundance of grim, humorless tut-tutting and eagerness to criticize the "class" of anyone who would dare say something edgy, funny, or with a kernel of truth. I did a quick check of your posts, and they divide roughly in half: lots of content-free "Go BAC" or "Go Cadets" messages that are completely uninteresting (this is supposed to be fun, right?) and a constant stream of self-righteous, prudish, carping comments telling others they are out of line. BTW, I live in Boston and hang out with a bunch of BAC alums. They are down-and-dirty, take-no-prisoners, give-em-hell drum corps guys -- precisely the kind of corps friends I love to have. And they don't think the scrims work, either. Lighten up. Or to quote a great man (Jeff Fiedler), "Toughen up, buttercup."

The "completely random" part didn't sound right, so I checked the old "ScorpsBoard". In 1980, there were 44 "open" (now "world", "Div I") class corps. ScorpsBoard shows all of them competing on Friday, but I don't think that's right. The top 25 (based on the previous year, I think) were on Friday, with 16 others on Thursday. I remember the Troopers going on between BD and Scouts (it was SO HOT at 4:00 on the turf during a heat wave that killed hundreds of people), but Troopers had been a finalist the previous year. So, the order was a little more random, but still broadly grouped. I can't remember any Thursday competitor ever making it to finals. Troopers broke into finals in '79 after finishing 20th the year before. That meant they went on early on Friday morning, not Thursday. The Thursday to Saturday jump probably never happened (unless Spirit did it years before). FYI, there was a separate Class-A/All Girl Division with an additional 11 corps that did not compete directly with the others. Drifting off topic, 1980 was great year for corps with strong performances way down into the rankings; still enjoy listening to 16th place LI Kingsmen and 20th place Memphis Blues.

As opposed to stealing from.... Summer, right before a big competition.... it's G. Gordon and the plumbers!

Thanks for explaining the barricades. They're a swing and a miss visually, especially when they make the "pup-tents" with silhouettes; was expecting Austin Powers to start pulling coat racks out of..... BTW, Les Mis (which takes place in the 1800s) is not about the French Revolution, which got off to a bang in 1789.

SCV and Boston are neck and neck, and so are BD and Cadets, but the shows couldn't be more different. SCV -- Horns are still noticeably weak, especially in the early part of the show. I know their music GE scores have been low, probably due to choice of music, but they also sound young. They do get some very nice sounds later in the show, however. The drill is good and well executed -- better than Boston's or BD's. The guard seems to do less equipment work than other corps, and don't pop visually. I really want them to do well, I just wish they had different music and better brass. Boston -- Early this season, I thought they were heading for 11th this year due to some real structural problems. They're doing much better now. I like the first half of the show much more than the second, but they have made some changes for the better, especially the ending. The horns sound great -- very musical. The visual in the second half is dull. After pushing the horns into one end zone while the drums head off to the other, they run out of gas. After that, they just move around in some straight lines, then scatter everyone across the field for a long ballad. Still using the stupid sheer tent -- now with flashlights -- WTF? Closer now has more reference to 1812, less to Les Mis, and better drill, but it makes you wish they were actually playing 1812. Guard work is effective. Cadets -- I love to hate them when they roll a living room onto the field, or Little Jeffrey, etc. But, make no mistake, this is a real drum corps show. I hope they end up 2nd (to Cavaliers). Very good guard, much improved marching ensemble since I saw them via the Internet, but they look a little sloppy individually. I've always said that it's easy to pick out the chicks in their horn line, given their bouncy-bouncy marching style. I think they got the only mid-show standing-O. Horns sounded good, but had a surprising amount of dirt, which is good news for them, since they have room to clean past BD. Of course, they probably sound a little rough because they actually march when they play, unlike... BD -- Great horns. GREAT drums. Great guard (which you can actually see this year, not lost in the clutter). Pleasant music. Some pleasant visuals. Makes me want to pop a Valium and vacuum my living room. The drill is bad. The sections are rarely well integrated. There is little excitement or build. Clean may win, but this is NOT a championship show. But they did sound better than Cadets. And they don't bounce when they march. Hopefully, Cavaliers and Cadets will clean right past them.

Brilliant man, and a drum corps giant

The Cavaliers weapons line was the best I've ever seen. Toss, jump, catch, land...