Orpheus

Maybe I'm just a nut, but I'm pretty sure that cleanliness is still an important part of the sheets. I don't notice a dirtier corps beating a cleaner corps in whichever particular caption very often. And I really don't see alot of dirt from the top six, eight, or ten corps by the time finals rolls around.

Have empty stands, lack of souvvie sales, etc. been a problem for DCI lately? Maybe I shouldn't ask, but is it somehow worse in you mind because it's "males AND females" rather that just girls/women?

Yeah, but do you remember the silver horns with white lacquer bells from 1989? Now that was odd.

I love the look of Phantom Regiment's helmets & plumes. They're the best looking headgear in the activity, bar none. They look stately and commanding and also help to increase the uniformity and perceived "height" of the marching members. The pith helmets sans plumes just look ridiculous and hopelessly dated to me. To me, the most disappointing uniform change was the new ones that the Cadets got last season. They just look like cheap knock-offs of themselves. I know they wanted uniforms that were easier to clean and simpler to put on and take off, but they didn't have to make them look quite so crummy, did they?

That's pretty awesome. What a way to kick off the summer.

So anyhow -- does anyone have a real, constructive review of the performance that'll give those of us who weren't there some actual idea of how things went and what the show is like?

No. I'll just say that I find it very instructive that you always seem to pop up to dis SCV at every opportunity. 'Nuff said.

Yeah ... I remember the last time BD played "Scheherazade." That was awesome. I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up on this thread. I almost posted some pre-emptive sarcasm, but was dissuaded by the better angels of my nature. Shows what I get for not acting fast. - LOL - So when you marched, were your shows always note-perfect on the second day of camp in May?

Yes, yes, yes. Without a doubt one of Magic's finest moments. ^OO^

I don't know if those count as having been "lost in the shuffle." - B) - Neither do "When a Man Loves a Woman," the Cadets' "Les Mis," or anytime the Cavaliers played "The Planets." - - I was really trying to spur discussion about charts that you love but nobody else ever mentions. hehe ... I think there've been whole threads about "Strawberry Soup," "Les Mis," and "Medea"! Here's another, tho -- how about BK's 1993 arrangement of "Battle in the Mutara Nebula"? The show as a whole totally didn't work for me, but I really dig that one piece. Someone also mentioned Pioneer's ballad from '99, "Magh Seola" -- I remember listening to that Boston Pops CD and thinking to myself, "this would make a great ballad for Pioneer." Then a few months later, what do you know? - LOL - Terrific piece. The Troopers' 1990 show "Music for the Centennial of the State of Wyoming" featured some really cool arranging. And I totally agree with what someone said about Star '87. Close your eyes and just listen to the brass charts from that show, and how well the line plays them. Try to forget about the jugglers and the pink elephants, if you have to. It's great stuff. Shades of things to come, even.

What's your favorite drum corps tune that rarely, if ever, gets talked about? I've noticed that there are a handful of charts that get mentioned all the time, while a lot of great stuff sort of passes under the radar. Sometimes they're even in the same show as a tune that's frequently brought up as one of the all-time greats. Other times, they were part of more obscure shows. So what chart do you secretly love that has frequently been lost in the shuffle? Mine is "Variations on a Korean Folk Song" (Cavaliers '86 & '87). Honorable mention goes to "Concerto for Guitar & Jazz Orchestra" (Madison '88).

My vote definitely has to go to the '91 Freelancers. That was a #### good show all around, but the brass book was somethin' else.

The fact that we enjoyed their performances makes us partly responsible for the corps folding? <<scratches head>>

Naw ... you misunderstand me. Yeah, in '92 they had the underlay, but thru 1991, they had the one-shoulder cape that went ... what? ... down to mid-thigh or so? But in '93 and '94 they didn't even have that much, the baldric just continued around down behind their shoulder to maybe the bottom of the shoulder blade.

I wonder what ever happened to those "alto horns" like the Crossmen used to play?

In order (most favorite to least favorite): 90, 93, 89, 91, 87, 92, 88, 85, 86

I thought '92 was the last year for the cape and in '93 & '94 they just had the little extension of their baldric flapping around back there.

Ever since we moved to this new system with just a single "music ensemble" judge ... well, I'm not a big fan of it. Brass ensemble and percussion ensemble ought to be judged independently. I know that a trained musician is a trained musician, but a brass guy just doesn't always know how to judge percussion and vice versa, no matter how smart and/or edumacated they are. It would mean going back to nine judges (3 performance, 3 ensemble, 2 GE, 1 guard ... cutting the number was a money saving measure), but I think it's worth it.

Their horns and drums were just in-your-face awesome that season. Great arrangements. Star '89 was definitely a harbinger of great things to come.

I love the show. Remember how in '92, when you ordered the videos, DCI would sent you a "super corps pack" with all the finals-week performances of one corps ... ? I got SCV and some of my friends wondered why. "Dude, they came in seventh!" and all that ... <sigh> What did they know? That show was intense.

That's funny....did you ever stand in front of the percussion ensemble that year?? I did plenty of times and it was the most exciting percussion arrangment still to this day in my opinion!!! Drum Corps wise that is. I know what you mean. I'm not a drummer myself, but a few of my best friends are and they pretty much all swear that Star '93 was the one of the cleanest and most intense drumlines ever ... or at least "of their era." They sound good to me, at any rate. -LOL- Personally, I've been a fan of that show from the get-go. My only wish would have been that the visual program (esp the guard) had been as all-out phenomenal as the musical program.

My single favorite show is, without question, Garfield '87. There are about seventeen runners-up, though!

Well, Dave ... volume/power without good tone quality and intonation is not necessarily a desirable thing.

Good review! Looking forward to part II.

Fantastic review. Thanks! - B) - Almost feels like I was there. (As I had planned to be before changes at my job. :( ) Good stuff. ... but if you really don't go to any shows next season just because of the amplification rule (no E, just A) ... well, then it's "boot to the head" time! - - IOW, don't be silly.