Tony L.

Some of the ones that I've always thought would be good candidates include: Will Rogers' Follies: I have always thought the music would work well for the Scouts for some reaosn. Once On This Island: Steel Pier (although BD 2005 already did the whole dance marathon thing). The Music Man: As Iowa's music ambasadors, I believe it is incumbant on the Colts to do the Iowa musical. Shipoopi would be a classic! Kiss of the Spider Woman: Built in kind of showiness to it. Jelly's Last Jam -- plenty of jazz and blues going on there. Five Guy's Named Moe! -- Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby and all the rest would be great. Oklahoma! -- I especially think the whole dream ballet sequence offers some real good opportunities for visual and musical effect.

If they were ever to do it, this year would be the perfect time. Not only because it is the 20th anniversary, but because of their recent shows. If the Cadets want to demonstrate their versatility, AS is about as far removed from 2005 and 2006 as you can get. And I for one would welcome a Cadets program that was first and foremost about the music. And as for the rest, I think they should take the theme of simplicity to heart: a field devoid of props, a guard that can actually really show the full range of their capabilities in dance and equipment work that's not lost in a sea of chaos, and a music book that lets the audience simply enjoy the beauty of the piece. And while I would be all for the Cadets doing the show, I also would not want it to be a complete rehash of 1987. If i want 1987, I'll watch 1987. But, there's plenty of material from the original that didn't make it into the 1987 program that could really help update the piece. Ultimately, I think this program would give the Cadets a great opportunity to really show all of the naysayers that a great corps playing a great show can win without a gimmick or cheap shtick -- which has been a little too prevalent in recent champions. It'll never happen, but one can at least dream . . .

I have to say that for me, the Cavies were really like a one trick pony -- I mean, if I had to see one more section of the robot I was going to scream. Seeing that show once was fun and cool, but seeing it 3 nights in a row, and it really didn't have much depth to it. SO for me, it was just a "don't care for it". I really couldn't hate it, I mean itwas on the whole a very well performed show. Loved Phantom! And Liked BD.

I think it's amusing to see someone claim that a show is not entertaining, as if it is something that can ever extend beyond the individual. One should say: "I did not find it entertaining." Because, as this thread clearly shows, what works for some doesn't necessarily work for others. And I know that I might be in the minority, but I actually found the Cavaliers' show to be a complete bore this year, but I realize that many others would disagree with me. To each his own. I also just want to say that I applaud BK for having a vision and sticking to it. I can't believe that in a time where everyone seems concerned with the homogenization of drum corps (I mean seriously, was there really a difference between Madison and Vanguard this year?) more people aren't supportive of those corps that do things a little differently. Perhaps it's because BK doesn't fit into any of the major geographical groups (East, West, or MidWest), but BK doesn't seem to fit into any molds, and that's one of the reasons why I am always so intrigued by their shows.

This was one of my 3 favorite shows of the season (PR and Crown being the others). But BK just brought such an intensity to the field that commanded absolute attention. And the "ballad" was absolutely devastating, I agree with the person who called it "haunting" earlier in the thread. And that pit! WOW!!! If all you did was watch the pit during the show, that was enough of a visual component to really show the true passion and artistry that made this show so compelling. I had to wear my BK T-shirt during Semis to show my support (because I was amazed at the lack of a response they received from many fans who simply refused to open themselves to such a different sort of drum corps). But in many ways, this was old school drum corps at its best -- fantastic music played well and with a visual design to really accentuate the music (not the other way around). Also, I am mistaken or was the closing set for the show actually a heart? I thought it was and begin to wonder if the show's theme (if it must have one) was an exploration of dysfunctional love -- such as the gentleman in NYC who blew up his town house (with him in it) just so his soon-to-be ex wife wouldn't get it.

I did manage to get a pic (albeit a little blurry since he was basically beyond the end zone). I will try to post it once I get my pics on my computer.

I know that the Bluecoats staff shot off something when it was announced that they were in 4th. Are those the silver streamers?

So as we all know, on Finals night, the corps will often do something a little special. The little things that I noticed were: 1. Spirit's "Georgia" on-field warm-up; 2. Spirit forming a Maltese cross to honor the Crossmen; 3. The Phantom Regiment "Phantom" standing over the tunnel as Phantom exited the field (got a pretty good shot of that); 4. Phantom's "new" ending as the demons, having lost Marguerite's soul, encircled a horn player and took him off the field alone and in the opposite direction of the corps proper; 5. Bluecoats' "new" ending where it's the same thing except the member in the endzone brought out the white streamer for one last connection; and 6. SCV's Mr. Moto during retreat wearing the old SCV uniform with the red tunic and green pants w/stripe! So did I miss anything else?

We were lucky enough that my brother-in-law hates being crowded in, so each night, we had an extra seat in our row as he went off to an empty space to watch the show. Once again, as great as Madison is for Finals, I think FInals should not return unless they do something to remedy the situation. Especially since we will be spoiled after 10 years of the new Pro stadium in Indy. After 10 years in the lap of luxury, I don't think I'll ever be able to go back.

I am still very disappointed that DCI no longer has DII and DIII champions perform in exhibition. With all due respect to the Marines, I would much rather see the champions of DII and DIII who've worked so hard during the course of the summer to get the thrill of performing in front of the big crowd. They deserve more than what they get now. Heck, neither Impulse nor Academy were even on the field when they were announced while entering the field during retreat. They have their uniforms, they have their horns, for gods sake, let them do more than just play that awful Champions Fanfare!

While I am personally bored by the Cavies programs recently (especially this year), I think that they still generally command respect because of the fact that they're success is still relatively recent and only came after years of working their way to their first title in 1992. However, it is becoming more evident that the fans of the Cavaliers (especially those who skip the entire contest and show up just to watch the Cavies) and even the Cavaliers themselves have a sense of entitlement to the championship which I find more than a little off-putting. I think we've all witnessed Cavies fans (especially those Newbies who only know the Cavies as perenial champions) being a little obnoxious, but the only corps that I can say that I've never witnessed that from is SCV. But, in the interview with Mr. Fiedler during Quarters or Semis, he made the following comment which struck me a being just a bit conceited: when asked how it feels to be in the middle of such a strong run since 2000, he says (and I paraphrase) "Well, we've been lucky since 2000 to always be in the running for the title. Sometimes we win and sometimes we just get second, but it's still great to be where we are . . ." WOW, sometimes they just get second! After hearing that, I think that it is time to maybe treat the Cavies as the evil empire (let's give the Cadets and Blue Devils a season off).

I got a great Carolina Crown sweatshirt for $20. It's solid navy blue with the crown logo on the left chest. Very nice.

I was a little surprised that BK passed Crown, but BK did have their best show of the week and Crown was a little down from semis. But, let's just remember that it's not just that Crown finished in 12th in percussion, it's that they were over .5 behind Spirit in 11th. I mean, they weren't even close. So once that score is factored in, it's not that surprising that BK passed Crown. But, I think that the crowd's reaction after the score was announced really let the kids know just how great we thought Crown's show was. I think Crown is really on the way up and this is just a bit of the growing pains. Now they have a definite issue to work on this fall.

Yeah, did you see the Vanguard trumpet player almost get decapitated by the flying rifle? I couldn't believe how many near misses there were.

OK, I have really stayed out of the great Cadets debate this year, but I did want to bring up one thing specifically about the show. I really had felt that the closer just didn't seem to work with the rest of the show and last night it occured to me why it didn't seem to work. The ballad does such a good job of really conveying the story of the girl's dream slowly dissolving and ending as she receives her suitcase and gets a wave goodbye from the singer. The dream has effectively ended, but the show still goes on. So it seems like the last couple of minutes just lose impact due to the lack of narrative impact. Just like any story, the denouement just isn't terribly exciting -- and definitely not the kind of impact that a drum corps finale should have.

I was just wondering if everyone noticed the great trainwreck during Crown's show? It was one of the worst accidents I've seen during FInals week. THey had such a fantastic show going, and during the song before closer, one went down and two fell over him. But they recovered nicely. So an 18.3 in visual performance with that accident, I think Crown will up that score tonight.

I was at Quarters tonight and I really think that BD had the best performance of the night. But, having said that, I think they are completely maxxed out -- nowhere to go. The Cavies first half of the show was incrediblely performed and very much championship quality -- the show went down hill from there and essentially died at the end. They had better get their act together in the back half of the show, otherwise, they might not get their rings this year (have you ever seen this many guard drops from the Cavies during Finals week?). Phantom will absolutley tear the stadium apart by Finals. THey were very near that level tonight (how in the world did Cavies win GE music?????). But, by Finals, PR will get the strongest reaction of any show and I wouldn't at all be surprised if they take it on Saturday. Crown had some issues tonight (ballad not quite what it has been), but once they connect with that, they will spread BK. But BK has a great show and they will spread BAC. BAC is performing really well, but they really can't get much more out of their show. And I think Madison will hold on against G-Men, and maybe even catch BAC. But if Madison can't get cleaner visually, they could be in trouble. I think Mandarins deserved the win over Southwind tonight, but I don't think they deserved the particular captions they won over SW. They were considerably better in visual performance and CG, but the scores actually gave them GE over SW, and that I simply didn't see. But, oh well, at least the right corps made it through to Semis.

I too was very impressed by what I saw at DII/III prelims. I could not believe how much I really responded to shows up and down the line-up. As stong of a year as DI is having, I think DII/III is equally strong. As for Academy, I think that they definitely have the foundation to be a serious player in DI. However, the biggest difference was in the visual program -- I mean their guard danced around in skirts for what seemed like half the show. That would never cut it in DI these days. BUT, their music program was incredible! It started solidly, but not overwhelming, but my word, that closer was just incredible! I could not believe that they were even attempting it, let alone playing it as well as they were. As strong as Oregon, ECJ, and Spartans were (and they were all very impressive!), after hearing that closer, it was clear that Academy was the top corps on the field. Congratulations to them and keep it going!

True enough. But at least there are people like us watching the stream and enjoying the products being performed by the DII/III kids. I'm glad that they're at least being showcased, even if it is just on the Internet.

I'm sure attendance will increase during the course ofthe day. I mean, it's not even 11:00 yet. Check back when DII starts. I'm sure it'll be better.

Just looking at the DII/III video stream and it appears that there are no stadium seats on the side of the field with the press box, but there do appear to be some on the other side of the field. Anyone know if the side of the field with the press box is the concert side through the whole week? And am I seeing this correctly and there are indeed, no stadium seats?

For what it's worth, I would have put Crown ahead of Scouts in brass tonight. And I really wouldn't go so far as to say that Crown's book is significantly easier than Scouts. One thing that seemed different for Crown tonight from what I remember from the Atlanta streaming video is that Crown kind of had a little more wide open, let it fly moments (particularly in the last piece) that I don't recall being that way. So perhaps in going for a little more wide open impact, they're getting hammered for their momentary lack of control. I for one don't mind a little loss of control as long as it flows naturally from the music and is not simply tacked on as a desparate attempt to generate GE. Crown was very strong tonight on the whole. My favorite. I think they'll be fine once they settle down on these sections.

I will say that based on my viewing of Crown tonight, I can completely concur with the judge. Crown was absolutely searing tonight! And I believe it was the best visual performance I've ever seen a Crown corps have. I'm actually shocked that their guard score wasn't a little higher. They are really locked in on this show now! It is easily one of my favorite shows of the year. I can't wait to see it again in Madison. I'm actually a little shocked at where the brass score for Crown was tonight. I would have had them above Scouts and a lot closer to the top (Cavies actually had some issues tonight that make it difficult for me to believe the score they received for brass performance. Mellos during the ballad were really off tonight (sounded like they forgot to tune). And the trumpets had some real intonation and ensemble issues. Not quite the clean mechanical brass sound I'm used to hearing from the Cavies.

1988 Fairfield, OH Madison Scouts Santa Clara Vanguard Phantom Regiment Cavaliers (I believe) Spirit Sky Ryders and a few more that I'm not remembering. It was a fantastic first contest! No wonder I'm still hooked!

Great advice. I had no idea that the est. drive time from Weehauken to the Stadium is approx. 14 minutes. Not bad. And the ferry is very convenient as well. Perhaps YEA! should designate someone for coordinating the movement of NYC fans to the stadium. I just remember the fact that we were almost stranded out there due to the lack of a return bus. If it weren't for a stadium event staffer with a van, we would have had to walk over a mile or so to getto the closest bus stop. Not a good way to end an evening.