Tony L.

Wow. That was about the most boring show I've seen fro mthe Cavies in years! Just can't get into this one at all. Oh well, I'll probably love it live, but for now, just not translating on video -- maybe I should have watched the overhead cam.

Done.

Loved the On the Waterfront performance! One of my favorite corps memories ever, not just Mandarins. Also love the fact that the Cavies are doing some stuff this year that strikes me as being Mandarins on steroids. Glad to see they're paying homage in their own way to the great Mandarins corps!

Just moved to Philadelphia and wanting to head up to Allentown for the weekend. Looking for the best two seats I can get for both nights.

What has happened with Colts???? I cannot believe they've fallen nearly 5 points behind Blue Stars. Have they made some changes that they're struggling with right now?

When I saw the movie, you could definitely tell that there were people at the movie who had no idea it was a musical. There were like 4 people who left after the first song and amazingly enough, a couple who left just before all of the killing got started. I felt like telling them to at least wait to see the scene where he kills most of his victims -- that's the best scene!

Oldest: 1989 Cavies Brass T-shirt Newest: 2006 Jersey Surf & Troopers; 2006 Carolina Crown Sweat Shirt (Best $10 ever spent at DCI Finals -- especially when it's chilly in Madison!). Nothing from 2007. No time to shop this year at Finals.

Unless everyone on here who complained and made some rather inappropriate/rude comments about the Cadets (and particularly their director) and their show was drunk at the time that they wrote what they did, I think the reaction at the Rose Bowl that nigh had more to do with those audience members' attitude towards all of the above and nothing to do with alchohol. BTW, there was plenty of booze (including dark liquor!) flowing at Finals in Boston and in Denver (and I seem to recall beer in Madison at some point in time) and nothing like this happened. So I would suggest that this was an anomoly and there is no need to start a drum corps temperance movement.

Overrated: Cavies/Blue Devils/Cadets/Phantom: All had strengths and weaknesses, but for the first time in my entire DCI existence (since 1987), I didn't really like any of the Top 4. Appreciate, yes. Marvel at the talent level, yes. But actually like? No. I really think that each of these corps' design didn't approach the actual talent level of the performers. For me the run of shows from BK/Bluecoats/Crown/SCV during Finals week was special and those shows and performances are the ones that will resonate with me in the future. Underrated: Blue Knights and Seattle Cascades. I really thought BK should have been a couple points higher. And Cascades had a nice show I thought and I think that it something they will build on to climb back up the competitive ladder.

How funny that Vanguard got shifted from the West to (theoretically) meet up with and most assuredly defeat the evil empire that is the Cadets, instead of forcing a potential BD v. SCV matchup before the final 4. I realize that it makes sense based on Finals results to give BD the lower placing Bluecoats, but geographically speaking, SCV shouldn't have been shipped out east. I would have put Crown in the East and Bluecoats in the Midwest. (although, it's not like anyone is actually traveling, but still).

I suspect that attendance in Indy will be huge. It's so close to so many parts of the Midwest, South, and East that I think the fans will definitely turn out for it. heck, the Indy regional is usually a huge crowd, so when you add in all of those who travel for Finals wherever they are, I think Indy's attendance will be strong. As for the blurbs I've seen in this thread concerning the reaction to the Cadets, I can only speak for my area on all nights, but on Friday night in particular, the reaction was fantastic. The ovation was huge at various points in the show, but especially on the first big horn hit. I guess it's just a matter of perspective.

Crown: Horoscope -- Music from the ballet by Constance Lambert and really any other sun/moon music they wanted to use. Already comes complete with a storyline that is easily adapted to the field. Troopers: Go West Young Man! (story of a migration from east to west with Shenandoah serving as the centerpiece and true focal point of the show) (Music to include "Appalachian Morning", "Shenandoah", "Rocky Point Holiday" & maybe Happy Ending from "Red Pony") I have always thought that the Sunburst from the '85 show to Red Pony was the best version that I've ever seen, so why not bring it back in an anniversary year? SCV: Music from the "Death of Klinghoffer" (Chorus of Exiled Palestinians; Chorus of Exiled Jews; Night Chorus; Klinghoffer's Death/Aria of the Falling Body (Gymnopedie); and "You Embraced Them!" as the heart-wrentching closer). If any corps could pull it off, I think it's Vanguard. Blue Knights: Mix it up and go with a new version of Leonard Bernstein's Mass that includes their corps song ("I Go On") and a crazy sequence when the mass falls apart and turns into a cacaphonous visual/musical improv that the Drum Major (as the celebrant) must bring back under control. I think it could be very interesting to see something like this and BK doesn't seem to be too afraid of trying a new and different approach to the activity. Mandarins: Nixon in China -- Music from the cultural revolution ballet sequence in Act II. That woud be fun -- the only problem is that the red might clash with their new uniforms.

Am I mistaken, or did the Cadets change the narration at the begining of the closer? I don't believe the guy began by saying how "different" he felt, but instead just went straight into saying he knew at a very young age how much he loved music. I think that was changed from Quarters to Semis and it makes that segment sooo much less laughable (as the Quarters crowd audibly snickered at the old version). Also, at one point, the guard have a featured toss where instead of grunting (as they did in Quarters), they sounded like they had yelled "EAST". Anyone else catch that? I think that was sort of a reaction to being booed the night before. The whole corps just had a lot more moxy on Friday and I think that attitude (plus some of the changes) will lead them to a victory tonight. It's going to be a blast either way though!

While I agree with those who have stated tha Crown's guad had a bit of a rough run last night, it certainly wasn't that rough. I mean, I really thought that the Cavies guad had some major issues last night and more drops than I think I've ever seen from the Cavies during a Finals week performance -- and yet, they were still judged to be No. 1. I actually thought that the best two performances of the night from the guards came from the Cadets and Vanguard and while I think the spread between these and Crown may have been a bit excessive, I can see why they did beatCrown's guard. But it really doesn't matter, because the Cavies are going to win guard again and, dare I say it, do so pretty much regardless of what actually happens on the field.

I'm not from Louisville, but am from KY. If you are willing to travel a couple of hours, there are typically two shows in the Cincinnati area as well. I'm in NYC now and I really miss being in that part of the country where within a three hour drive, you could typically take in 5-6 shows (and that was even before the advent of the big Louisville show).

What the hey, I'll post some predictions: 92.900 Cavaliers 92.200 Phantom Regiment 92.100 Carolina Crown 88.500 Boston Crusaders 85.200 Colts 81.600 Spirit from JSU 81.400 Blue Stars 80.750 Madison Scouts 78.800 Pacific Crest 78.600 Southwind 71.900 Pioneer I get the feeling that things might just tighten up a bit in order to create some drama going into the regionals this weekend. Tonight will be a tease of possible shifts in the standings, then there will be shifts in the standings at the regionals, but everything will fall right back into place during Finals week. Things always have a way of reaching predictable finishes in DCI. I fear this year will be no different. Although I hope that I am very wrong in this assessment!

Interesting, I picked Spirit without even giving it a thought and after voting, I see that I'm definitely not the only one who did that. A little surprised that so many people agree -- pleasantly surprised that is.

At my desk during lunch and I was interested to see how far the Troopers score had come from the begining of the season (gained 17 +) and decided to check other corps out there. Most fell within the 16-18 point range, but here are some the highest gainers and lowest gainers. Keep in mind, this is based solely on first and latest score, not high and low. Highest Bluecoats Cadets Glassmen (all 20 +) Spirit (19.85) Lowest Mandarins (9.95) Crossmen (11.3) Pacific Crest (12+) Boston (13.8) Madison (14 +) The biggest surprise was that Vanguard has only improved 12.2! While the majority of the corps in the top 7 have increased by at least 18 (I believe the Cavies were the lowest of the top groups -- although that is based on their last score which was something of an anomaly). Interesting when one considers the ageless debate about West Coast inflation that 3 of the lowest were from California. Oh well. Back to work.

Didn't Spirit win guard one year in the '80s also?

Yeah, everyone at the Wichita score went down tonight except for the Troopers. Wonder if the scores in Wichita were a bit high then?

Crossmen 1996 I believe had the drum break opener. That was a great way to start. Oh, and the Blue Devils '96 smashmouth opening was also un-formulaic.

Very interesting criticism coming from the Cavaliers. Didn't the board just spend like an entire day reviewing the detailed breakdown of the Cavies show which demonstrated the exact opposite of your statement here? Now, unless you are referring exclusively to the new closer (which I've not seen), I think the Cavies are actually the corps that has the players standing while playing anything other than basic chords and other filler the most. Don't get me wrong, they also do the best job of creating the illusion of everyone constantly moving. It's what they do probably better than anyone else out there. Also, since the horn book is also probably the easiest in the top 7, they really don't have much demand to begin with, so marching and playing shouldn't really pose much of a problem for them to begin with.

Am I crazy or does anyone else think that the Troopers should be ahead of Crossmen today?

You're correct. Martha Graham was from a time when we couldn't be "an Athlete of a supreme being!" So maybe the Cadets should edit her quote.

If one looks at the extended quote taken from the Martha Graham essay that originally aired on NPR entitled "An Athlete of God" http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5065006 It appears that the Cadets are getting a bit too much criticism. I think the Cadets' show is not at all about hubris; instead, I think it celebrates the proceess that ALL corps go through to achieve what we (the fans) have the privilege to witness at contests every night. In fact, I think all drum corps performers (just like dancers) are truely an "athlete of God". They practice, practice and practice, in order to put a performance out there for the world to enjoy, consider and judge. Sure it falls flat some times, but it is always sublime, regardless of the overall quality. I don't care which drum corps show one talks about, all of the corps put out fantstic shows that demonstrate why each and every member is truly "An Athlete of God." And for celebrating that (albeit with Martha Graham'a slightly hyperbolic quote), I say "Thank you" to the Cadets. We celebrate all of the performances by all of the corps! I just wish that as we go into San Antonio that we could all enjoy what we have -- young adults out there giving everything they have for their corps, their art, and us, the fans. Let's all enjoy the "Athletes of God" regardless of what uniform they happen to wear!