brown55061

The perfect score not existing is true... but at the same time, if someone scores a perfect in any caption it means it was literally perfect. As in, nothing left on the field and no mistakes at all. I don't think anyone could say a corps from the 70s-90s has performed at as high of a level as what we saw out of the top 5 this year. They are all playing more difficult and technical music, harder drills, more physically demanding etc etc. So I do think the BD score is that much better than the 99.15 of the past, or any 97-99 score from past decades. They really are that much better nowadays.

Watching the retreat live you could tell Steve and Dennis thought the Bluecoats were on fire tonight. I think the crowd reaction just shows the kids (err young adults) pulled the emotion out and brought the hammer tonight. A half point jump on finals night... now THAT is hot! Congrats guys, probably one of the coolest shows done and crowd favorite for future generations to remember. Just a shame BD was nearly perfect this year or things could have been different!

Last time I went to finals it was $55 to sit on the 40 yard line. For $75 Dan Acheson should be hand delivering pop corn and coke! Thanks for the quick replies folks, sadly I just can't afford that. I could probably scalp a ticket for less than that and drive out there lol

I thought I got an email from DCI last week that mentioned something about finals being streamed live for a price. But now I'm thinking I was confusing that with something else cause I see nothing on their website about it. I never did the whole fan network deal because I'm just too busy to take advantage of it. But if you could watch finals I'd totally pay. I know about the live & loud semis at the movies but I thought this said finals. Anyway just fishing to see if this is legit or in my imagination. Thanks in advance.

victorcoly gets it. This whole movement to WGI on the field is bad for DCI. The battery features are very much indoor drill and sound design w/ the electronics, and I get that because movement and velocity is more demanding. But when the actual music becomes synthetic and sounds like a WGI show I'm turned off. The judging is going to go more and more that direction, sadly. I haven't went to a show in about 5 years because I just don't get the goosebumps anymore. As for the coats use of the synth this year, I think it's almost great. In the closer they should turn the keyboard volume down a bit so it's not blatantly obvious when the bend takes place. And that last loud chord, man is the keyboard loud! They should use it to flavor the music, not overpower the horns. It all may sound different in the dome so I'll reserve judgement until Finals. I do enjoy what they did with the closer though, especially that last pitch bend up on the keyboard for the 3 bar power chord. So much more satisfying than the drum feature and tilty triangles. I still think they need to do a tiny pitch bend with the horns... maybe after the long hold fizzle out the horns and tilt the horns posture further?? If your entire masterpiece rests on a single theme like tilting, every movement needs to reflect that. Regardless I'm glad their show is being rewarded by the judges. And that drumline!!

Charlie123 has an excellent point about home shows for corps getting a boost in the new caption. At least at Indy it's neutral ground, aside from the big 5 or 6 corps with a bigger fan base. I don't think anyone can argue the Devils have a big fan base but there was very little aplause after their show most of the year. So we can't just say popular corps automatically get a crowd reaction. I've tried to bring new people to DCI shows and the majority aren't very impressed, not like they were in the 90's. I haven't jumped out of my seat for good reason in years. Even my musician friends walk away saying "ehh it was okay". I got involved in this activity because of the things I saw and heard on the field. Corps today say they are there for entertainment but it's about #5 on their list. Their goal has to revolve around making top 12 status, to retain DCI sponsorship and get new recruits with more talents to improve their scores each year. I felt bad for taking people to live performances because the shows felt totally disconnected from the thousands sitting in the stands. I found myself yawning during the devil's show. Were they insanely clean and talented? Sure! But it bored my friends. Corps today seem like they only want to ram 1000 notes down your throat with no melody or meaning to the repertoire of the program. Maybe this new rule isn't a perfect answer but something needs to change or the activity is going to lose interest. Most of the guys I kept in contact with from my era stopped following DCI in the last decade. Even if this entire caption is 1 point out of 100, it may make corps at least TRY to connect to the audience. I just hope it doesn't turn into a soap opera on the field lol.

I don't have a big enough pair to do a tat. Sure the fleur de lis logo looks good when you're 21, but when you are 60 it will look like a dead pine tree with liver spots. Bleeehh And that cool looking Cavalier guy.... well he may end up looking like a saggy cavalierette after a few years. That's no way to respect to a mighty Cavalier.

Firstly, I never said DCI's primary goal was entertainment. But they wont sell any tickets if there was none! Many div1 corps directors have continually made crowd pleasing their first goals. I stated I knew GE was not "entertainment", but I feel it SHOULD be a part the 100 points somewhere. A shows "effectiveness" is just as emotional of a call. In most cases a field judge would disagree with a box judge because of what is lost from field to the pressbox. I didn't mean to hyjack this thread, so I'm done. Carry on arguing about why the Coats can't win.

And that's why I disagree with their judging methods. DCI has a major disconnect to its fans and does not explain scoring well at all. DCI's purpose is to give the kids the experience of a lifetime and entertain thousands of fans, which keeps DCI in business. My point about GE is simple, the scoreboard never factors in the personal connection and theme like a Crown 07 show that overflows with GE. The coats have a much more solid connection to fans than BD does this year. Do a simple poll of vets of DCI and you find this is obvious, yet BD's GE will win undoubtably. GE should not just be about how well the music and visual packages fit together. A lot of fans are disconnected because scoring doesn't factor in the theme's impact, it's ZERO out of 100. I know most disagree but this is why I generally don't like BD. Their performances are top notch yet their show almost lulls me to sleep. Maybe my reflection is just boring.

I bleed Canton blue but it's not happening. For whatever reason, the judges actually enjoy the BD program full of blaring horns and zero character. I believe performance wise the Devils are nearly flawless. No doubt, their weakest player in each section is stronger than the weakest in other corps. I will likely forget about BD's program August 16th. The bluecoats show, on the other hand, I walk away humming the tunes in my head because they are so recognizable and fun. Is that not what general effect really is? Lots of contrast in the top 4 this year in every caption. That's what will shake up the judges this weekend. My prognostication says BD will win with a 98.95 and I believe it will be a near tie between Cavies and Coats on Saturday at 97.25. I have a sneaking suspicion that Cavies will edge them out for 2nd at some point this week. In the performance captions Cavies really should not touch the Coats because their horns and perc just aren't as good. But judges like to see things different! I congradulate the Bluecoats for their highest scores ever, and more to come. I hope they pull off a whopper on Saturday just to create havoc on the forums and screw up everyone's perfect world. Wish I could be there to see it first hand.

I haven't seen both together since July 9th in Akron. Based on that... Bluecoats have a more fun program to watch. They are squeeeeky clean already aside from the gaurd and transition drills. I think they have the best overall enseble and play so great as a group. They have a lot of tough timing sections in the show and they play great together front to back. Most corps are still rough with this at finals but the coats are solid, yet those caption scores never reflect that. But I'm not wearing a green polo so what do I know! You can't help but love it when Crown's brass bludgeons your ears to the point of blood. But they just don't seem as clean this year. The music is probably tougher in areas. But I'm with SFZFAN, the odd body girations don't do it for me either. Star used to drive my nutty for this reason but at least their movement tied into the program. Crown seems to do it just to make you go HMMMmmm. Everyone has different styles, so that's probably good. It's just not what I prefer to see. I go to be entertained and the dance is not what makes me pay to watch a show. I love both but I personally feel the bluecoats will get 4th, and Crown in 5th, behind the Cadets. But who knows, it's early!

I have to admit the 2007 show popped into my mind Friday when I saw them in Akron, edging out Crown. But they gave it right back to Crown Saturday so numbers are meaningless right now. Remember, judges are from all different walks of life, ESPECIALLY visual and ensemble judges which is a huge portion of the score. We'll likely see scores jump up and down at different shows in July. This is why I could care less at this point. I don't pay any attention to overall scores until Allentown because that's when most corps begin to peak for Finals. So until then we can run statistic scenarios all day long but none of it matters. Every year staff and kids change, chemistry is different etc. So let's just hope for DCI's sake (and Ohio) that the Canton crew can pull out the stops and surprise some people in Indy! This is one of their best programs to date and has massive potential so I'm going to hope they break the top3 just so Ohio has ONE FRIGGIN THING TO APPLAUD ABOUT!!

Did they have a lot of age outs, or was the recruiting not there? Just curious!

I think you all are missing a bigger picture here. Even if their visual scores were up, they would not have been a top 3 corps. I'm sure a lot of the vets returned for 09 considering they won. And when you win you usually get a better class of recruits trying to audition for remaining spots. I disagree with the percussion score entirely, they were just as clean as the top 3 that had fuzz through several sections of their shows so I guess I missed something from the stands. But the brass sounded up to par and the gaurd was not terrible. Visual design alone was not the entire achilles heel of this corps. Overall the scores were down even in some performance captions. So if their visual design was flawless they would barely be in the top 4. Just pointing this out! Phantom will be a favorite to me if they are 12th or 1st.

2001 or 2008. I know last year they had a blow out at the end of the ballad but the whole thing was arranged well.