pastpresentfuture

Have a nice day.

I'm not impressed. It's common for there to be around a 3 point jump the week going into san antonio. If not, corps would barely be breaking 90 leaving a very large gap for judges to fill adequately and fairly. So these "jumps" are nothing more than point adjustments to make finals a bit more interesting (which is obviously serving its purpose). But look at these shows. Madison's drumline has the easiest book I've seen in quite a while, and their "new" drill isn't all that challenging either. As for the overall complexity of the show? As the years have gone by, I've noticed a disturbing trend in the simplicity of some of the more successful shows. A good example of that is Colts. They are slowly making their way up the finals chain with a show that a college marching band could pull off. Don't get me wrong, they're obviously clean, but the show is boring, the concept is simple, and the difficulty is far below corps that they are beating. So why doesn't everyone do this, right? Well, according to reports on ticket sales, DCI shows are in the slumps. It's hard to believe for any Drum Corps fan. Who in their right mind would NOT want to go watch DCI? Well, listen to the shows. There are people still doing Firebird! And it's not far from the versions that were played again and again before them! There's nothing new and fresh (and talking through mics during a show ISN'T new or fresh, it's just annoying). The corps that actually ARE attempting something that is somewhat intriguing and requires a little bit of thought are being slammed by GE judges that can't recognize what's happening. That should make sense, right? Take Crossmen for example. Metamorphosis. The show is a GREAT work. It takes themes from so many different pieces of music that are recognizable by the average drum corps fan and creates a production out of it. An arrangement that is not verbatim from a score (like Firebird, or even Cadet's closer this year) but instead melded together to create an auditory effect similar to that of drill. For some reason, many judges don't get this. They listen to these shows and just complain that there's not enough "standing and blowing." When you're watching a drum corps show, you watch the drill wondering what's going to come next. But everyone knows what comes next in Firebird, or the Willy Wonka Theme Song, or even Billy Joel, at least everyone who's been around long enough. Listen to Crossmen's show, or even Glassmen's show, and you'll be surprised by what you hear from an arrangement and originality stand point. And if Madison makes finals, that will only prove my point more so. These are my opinions and if you agree, cool. If not, cool. Just something that's been swimming around my head for a while.