doctor john

For the college football fans here, firing Leon May would be analogous to Northwestern firing Pat Fitzgerald after a trip to the Rose Bowl because the Wildcats didn't win the national title.

Love the Cavaliers' gray "Standing Man" T. Also, the classic navy Troopers logo T holds a special place in my heart because it was the first corps shirt I ever owned.

Last time I checked, Camp Randall's still sitting pretty up north...

SCV: cresc/decresc at the 1 min mark. Gives me chills every time.

It's funny you say that because whenever I think about this issue, the one show that comes to my mind as a standard in drum corps recording is '89 SCV. I also think most of the 90's recordings were pretty nice. 1992 was rough, but otherwise I don't have any real complaints with DCI recordings until 2004, when big hornline hits started to seem muted...

Take it home, Santa Clara!

This is pretty cool, but the omissions are glaring: no 83/84/87 Garfield, no 95 Cavies, no 06 Cadets. Also, Time couldn't get the appropriate clips directly from DCI and had to resort to the site-that-will-not-be-named (STWNBN)? Really? Call me a conspiracy theorist, but almost seems as if Time relied on what drum corps clips were available on the STWNBN...

To me, it's interesting that many of the 1980/90s recording sound BETTER overall than the more recent ones. I've had a couple of unbiased (non-drum corps) audiophile friends confirm this. Does anyone know if/how DCI changed their recording setup to accomodate amplification?

win

As far as I'm concerned, video quality is a lower priority than audio quality. In the past few years (2004-on), I haven't been all that impressed with DCI's ability to manage the miked pits in their recordings. Hearing corps live, one still gets blasted by hornlines but yet can now hear more clarity from the perc via amplification. This is generally good. However, when one listens to recordings, oftentimes the pit overpowers the hornline! This is definitely a recording issue and will need to be addressed by DCI before I get too excited about Blu-ray discs or HD video.

I'm thinking Jaws and the Alice in Wonderland characters...with a "yowza, yowza, yowza" from the pit after the feeding frenzy.

...what would the definitive parody corps have made fun of?

Agreed. That dude was definitely playing. The crowd reaction was such, though, that it makes the point moot anyway (or should I say "mute?"). Ah, Garfield '87. Best. Show. Ever.

1984 by a mile. One of the top 5 drum corps shows of all time, in my opinion.

Summertrain is definitely the BD show that I listen to the most. Lots of creativity with sound (Doppler effect with megaphones, pit/perc simulating train to a "T", GREAT useage of non-amped vocals, etc), lots of great solos, but what I like about it the most is its clear concept, which was driven home in style with the exit. This show really has it all.

Agreed, this is a great BD show. My favorite part, though, is the DM reaction AFTER the final release. He just kind of shakes his head in amazement with a funny grin before turning to the audience.

Yup, agreed. Knowing the backstory makes it all the more powerful.

Of course, I'd hate to see them muck it all up by getting to into the spoken word element that they seem so fond of adding piecewise as the season progresses. Let well enough alone. Clean your show through the feet and the ombouchure, NOT the microphone!

Going out on a limb here, but after seeing HNC's production, I would be absolutely shocked if it didn't result in another title for those guys and gals. The demand is in the stratosphere...and they're only beginning to really clean it and sell it.

This is my thought exactly. While I appreciate SCV's treatment of the ballet and think it's a good show overall, I find myself at many points comparing it to Garfield '87 and realizing how much of a monster the latter show was. The way the Cadets melded tempo, dynamics and visual into one was, and still is, nothing short of amazing. It's "misty-eyed standing-O" material in my book... and that's when I'm watching it on DVD. Genius indeed. Oh yeah, after a not-so-brief hiatus, I am officially back on the "Planet."

The Blue Stars really impressed me this year with their arrangements of Firebird and Swan Lake. Very original, very well played, and exceptional utilization of their new uniforms.

Yeah, it was pretty bad. I think the field was bumpy (couldn't have been wet, what with the drought) because members of several of the other corps had footing problems as well. Also, I hope that dude's knee is alright; hopefully he can finish his season.

Eureka kinda reminds me of SCV's last championship show, 1999. Modern chord structures, interesting guard choreography, and killer drill...I don't know if another title is in the cards this year, but after tonight, I'm convinced "!" has a LOT more in it.

I was at the Vanguard rehearsals (and performances) in Murfreesboro and Sevierville, and let me say that those kids are working! Eureka is a challenging show, and SCV had a difficult time "selling" it early in the season and at MTSU. But tonight was a different story (check out the GE scores): SCV was very intense from the downbeat to the last chord, and the crowd went crazy. I tend to observe shows from a "GE perspective" and I thought that SCV was much more cohesive tonight that on Friday (everything, from tempo to intonation to vis). Vanguard has been sweating it out in the afternoons and throwing it all down at night; I was thus very pleased to see that the judges awarded them for their efforts.

Does anyone know where Crown is being housed for the Sevierville show? Also, rehearsal time?