madalumni

Bridgemen Cadets Madison 88-02, 05, 15 BD 76-93...94-02 Phantom 87-97...03-present SCV 97-99 Black Knights Blue Knights 91-98....2014/2015 Cavaliers 84-present Crossmen 90-94 Star 93 Crown 2003-present Bluecoats 87-95...2012-present

Was anyone at camp this past weekend? Care to give a review? Did I see a photo of the legendary James Elvord in attendance?

That would be a bad ### show!

And what is that reason?

I would call Crown's hat a King Hat....6 months from now, someone will randomly agree with me. ;)

Yep. I would do nothing....and I would get 40 subscriptions to Vibe magazine!

This is a good point Mike. I would add that Madison went back to the "spirit" of their identity...something I've been hoping for for a long time - That they would find a way to be the powerful. aggressive Madison, but in a fresh/relevant way. They could have easily ended up being a mere parody of their former selves by rehashing things from the past. I'd love to see Spirit do their version of the same thing - capture the "spirit" or essence of who they are for the modern activity. I feel like they did exactly that with the Vegas and Speakeasy shows!

Crown Cadets Phantom Madison Colts

I predict that in 2016, Jeff Ream's head will explode like the guy from "Scanners" because the "higher ups" in DCI will award the Championship to the Corps with the second highest score....just to see if they can pull it off. DCI will then become Skynet and Judgement day will begin!

Congratulations Blue Devils! This has been one of the most exciting seasons I can remember and I love how unpredictable it has been coming down the stretch! Congrats to all the amazing Corps tonight, including my younger brothers in the Madison Scouts for tearing it up loud and proud all season!!

I think they also topped them in 1997 Finals when Scouts got 5th and Cavaliers got 7th. But yeah, it would be awesome to see them do it again this coming Saturday!

I feel like all the aforementioned horn lines are different but pretty equal this year. I love Madison's classic thick powerful sound, Phantom's big dark chocolaty sound, and Cavaliers' bright textured sound that they've had since the early 2000s. In my opinion, where Madison would need to shine is in Guard and Visual/GE since those are the heavier captions. Not sure they'll be able to do it against Phantom and Cavaliers, but it's so awesome that it's within reach this year! Visual is such a big leap and so is the Guard...and not just with their technical proficiency...it's their confidence, their showmanship....the smart color choices on the costumes and silks....not to mention all the thematic nuances that run through the entire program! It feels like these things have been a bit of an afterthought for so many years, but now they are putting real thought and attention to all the details! This has become such a beautiful show and you can tell the members are digging it too!

Saw a couple rehearsal photos from yesterday and it looks like he's back in...at least during rehearsal. :D

I feel like Bluecoats need just a little bit more tension built leading up to the crowd noise effect. Cadets just need one more additional crazy 8 count rotation move with a nice horn tag at the very end! Madison could use a signature rotating company front....not sure where....and maybe 4-8 more counts in the script "M" set...and maybe kneel down or something. Blue Devils....something crazy, chaotic and abrupt at the end...and I'm sure that's exactly what they have planned!

I echo tesmusic's sentiments....great run, LOVE the new ending. This show is really coming together. LOVE how improved and how charismatic the Guard has been performing lately! Keep it up Brothers!!!

This is one of those enjoyable, energetic shows from Blue Stars that, for me, is up there with 2007, 08, 10, and 13....perfect blend of music that is compelling and a concept that isn't heavy handed, but carries all the way through on multiple layers! Now hoping they turn the brass lose, just a little more!!! Oh, and it's cool to see the back and forth battle between them and my Scouts. I hope it continues that way right to the end, so we don't know 'till Finals who comes out ahead!

I really hope both Corps move up in the ranks over the next several years (and stay there)! So much great history and tradition between the two. I think the key more than anything, is to keep the talented staffs that they both have in place now.

That could happen....it seems to have played out this way in other seasons when they were this close. But I wonder if Scouts' improved Color Guard and Visual/GE will keep them in the game more than before. Either way, I do like that the two Wisconsin Corps are this close....it makes it far more interesting than a blow-out.

I agree Boz! The Corps is high energy and I feel like that is increasing as they gain confidence with this product. But yeah, that "gotta dance" voice drives me nuts. If they took it out entirely, I don't think it would hurt the show at all. I do like how they replaced it at the end of the show with reprising the MGM Lion roar. Anyway, I love this show and it's growing on me big time!

As a full-time professional artist, I call b.s. on the above assertion that Munch's "The Scream" has more depth than the bowl of fruit. You are comparing 2 entirely different styles and intents. The bowl of fruit is a purely representational painting and "The Scream" is an expressionist painting. Anyone who claims that one style is inherently better or more sophisticated than another, is literally comparing apples and oranges. And it's sad that there seems to be a trend in this activity that certain styles are frowned upon. I know, it's the sheets....the top corps are simply playing to the sheets. Well, if we are going to call this activity an art form, then the sheets need to encourage all ranges of styles and expressions. If not, then ultimately, everything becomes homogenized and we drift toward a form of "group think". Anyway, my overall point is, the bowl of fruit should be able to win as much as "The Scream" if it is performed well enough. If not, then we have a lot of conformity going on. Do we want that?

I will take a stab at it: Blue Devils Cadets Santa Clara Bluecoats Crown Blue Knights Cavaliers Phantom Madison Blue Stars Boston Crossmen

I watched the show on the fan network. The boys threw down tonight! What a great show, and it's really growing on me. All sections are really starting to show confidence and getting cleaner! GO SCOUTS!

I've been a fan of Weber's work too...a true artist with design and flow. He wrote Madison's 2005 drill and I thought it was by far the best Madison drill in modern times. I'm sad we let him go after only that year and it was definitely Santa Clara's gain, as time has proven!

Oh...and it's now July 1st. Don't the Scouts have a saying about how July is different than June? ;)

Those were great years! As Todd pointed out, the Memory years....and 84, INSANE hornline! I have an early season recording somewhere and although it's not as clean as Finals, (obviously) it highlights the pure raw power of that horn line that you don't quite get in professional recordings.