Tony L.

I was surprised at the lack of volume from the Devils when I saw them in Louisville. I know that volume doesn't make a good hornline, but that's definitely one thing you could always count on from the Devils, and it just wasn't there that night (and I was on the 50, 29 rows up). But more troubling was the shakey performance from the trumpets. They had a raspy sound and had some pretty severe (by BD standards) intonation problems. But I can't completely pass judgment based on one performance. Now the Bluecoats sounded amazing when I saw them the night before in Kettering. Such control and fantastic tone. And more volume (good volume) than BD for sure. And I think the Coats actually can take the volume up a little more without sacrificing the qulaity of the sound because even when I saw them at Kettering it sounded a little reserved. We'll see.

Having only seen BD, PR, and 'Coats, I am not completely convinced that BD will win, let alone set a record high score. If I were a betting man, I would wager that BD doesn't even come within 2 points of the record high score. But that's just me.

I've often thought that the Mandarins should play up the Chinese origin that they have by doing some works such as: The Butterfly Lovers Music from the ballet "Raise the Red Lantern" Music from the Last Emperor Music from Nixon in China -- in particular the Cultural Revolution ballet sequence (it's good music and gives the benfit of giving a visual package that can easily be lifted from the opera. Maybe they should do China: Revolution/Evolution A show that traces the struggle of traditional society as it tries to adapt and change through the Chinese Revolution(s) and the current evolution of China into the next Superpower. I think that's a show that would lend itself to one of those lengthy show descriptions that I just love so well.

I really was not that impressed by BD in Louisville. In fact, if BD are the clear cut runaway winner, they will be the weakest championsip show in some time. IMHO. But, of course I 've only seen it once and maybe it was a down night. We'll see. How many times have you seen the BD show? I'm just wondering if it is something that I will see after multiple viewings. I actually think that Phantom and Bluecoats could challenge Devils this year, so I wouldn't hand them the crown just yet.

I would love to see Vanguard do the choruses from John Adams' "Death of Klinghoffer" -- and close with "You Embraced Them" the aria Mrs. Klinghoffer sings at the end of the opera, talk about powerful. Other pieces by John Adams that could work in DCI are "El Dorado" and "El Nino". On a different note, I would love to see someone (maybe Bluecoats or Crossmen) do some of the music from the dance show "A Play Without Words" that's got some really good jazzy music. And the visual designers could incorporate the play's technique of telling the story with 3 different dancers playing the same character. I honestly thought that that is where The Cadets got that idea for last year's production.

That's fine. Like I said, I have only seen the show once and for all I know, it could have been a really bad run for them. That being said, it's not my cup of tea. To each his own.

Having just seen both PR and Devils last night, I can easily see PR catching Devils. And the reason why is because PR is presenting a much more interesting total package. Not only does the music really work, but I think the visual is very interesting and has some really cool moments (like the descent into #### as I believe the block eventually becomes a company front IIRC). But definitely, BD are significantly cleaner than PR, but that is something that can improve. In fact, I think BD will get caught by PR eventually simply because the visual program from BD is surprisingly weak. Guard do their thing pretty well (although at least 4 drops last night and a generally overall ragged performance was below the standards we are used to seeing), but the overall package just doesn't have much impact. I mean, when one of the big moments of the show is the corps forming a skeleton of a fish with the guard showcasing fish skeleton flags (and of course the horse head flags as well) it just seemed a bit too, dare I say, HS band???? Just not the impact I think a corps vying for the title should have. Whereas PR is definitely exploring and presenting a more nuanced and interesting visual package (at least based on what I saw last night). I just don't think that the BD show has much legs and I definitely don't think it's a show that has enough going on that it requires multiple viewings. And musically, BD does not have much of an edge there (if at all). I would have put both PR's brass and percussion ahead of BD last night as well as ensemble. But They are very close in each aspect. But is it just me (or maybe just an off night), but is the BD hornline not putting out as much sound this year? I think PR, Crown, Spirit and maybe even Glassmen were louder last night. I can't recall ever seeing that! Finally, what is the deal with the three featured dancers for BD? I don't think they ever picked up a piece of equipment and all they did was run around the field aimlessly? Just dancing for the sake of dancing I suppose. But the dancing they did had nothing to do with any godfather story that I know and it just seemed a bit confusing to me -- I mean at once they were too liteal (see fish discussion) and then so abstract (aimless dancing). Just a very disappointing performance maybe, but it didn't really work for me. AND that in a nutshell is why I think PR can and will catch the Devils this year.

Yeah, I actually think BK gained slightly on SCV, so the blue field must not have really hurt them. Or, if you're a BK fan, perhaps the blue field DID hurt them and they would actually have been even closer to SCV.

It's a tie: 1992 1988

Well, the only thing I would like to point out is on the question of whether George was actually cutting down any particular judge or judges. If you read the quote about the judges, it is clear that George has set the Ensemble and Guard Judges as exceptions to overall judging (which presumably is right on because the scores are where George would expect them to be). By doing so he effectively set these judges out as examples of incorrect judging. In my opinion, this is just politics as usual (I mean the blog simply gives a new avenue to lobby for his corps). I do think that by going public like this, a couple of interesting effects might happen: 1) the judges try to demonstrate their lack of bias by boosting the Cadets the next time that they see them; 2) the judges resent being called out and effectively bullied and exercise their discretion to score the Cadets lower than George thinks they should be. Any way you look at, by doing this George has at the very least questioned the credibility of the judging establishment. I think that regardless of what happens the ultimate result will be the Cadets won because the judges "got" the show or the Cadets did not win because the judges did not "get" the show. Or at least that is what the simple explanation will undoubtedly be. These sort of attacks or discussions should take place directly with the judges themselves, not out in the open. It was really poor form in my opinion, regardless of his right to say whatever he wants on his blog. He owes a responsibility to the activity and anything that undermines the credibility of the activity should not be done.

I completely agree that it is way too early to start being concerned with Crossmen's scores (especially when they haven't actually competed for days now). And I would also just add that it is perfectly understandable that Crossmen would still be a little behind the pack considering that they didn't actually start their season until a week (or more) after their chief rivals. By the end of July we'll have a much better measure of where Crossmen stand. But ultimately, the depth of quality corps this season may result in some fine shows placing as low as 17 or below. No worries if the actual product on the field still improves over the previous years' offering.

I have to believe that Bluecoats have a good shot at beating the Cadets tonight -- especially if they can top TheCadets in Ensemble visual, CG and Drums (as they have been doing v. Cavaliers (at least some of the time). It will be interesting to see, but if the Bluecoats are going to beat them this year, I would think that it would be sooner rather than later.

still available.

still looking . . . .

If you're flying from Detroit, I would think that you'd pretty much be looking at Northwest if you want a direct flight (since I believe Northwest has a hub in Detroit).

Tix still available.

bump.

I don't know that I like them. Of course we must wait to see them in action under the lights, but I think they are a bit over the top. Especially if they plan on doing as much "Robot" visuals as they seem to be posting in all of the videos. My concern is that that if you push a theme too far, it ceases to be a nice effect, instead, it becomes all there is. And if the Robot effects become too much, then it will be a negative, not a positive. I think they have a fine line to walk this year as far as this goes. I just hope they err on the side of a little restraint.

Now, I think in theory the use of a voice as another element to the music could work really well and enhance the effect achieved. BUT, I really have to say that I just didn't really think the voice here does anything. The brass sound is so fantastic and the voice is just lost (at least in this recording) as is the effect. Oh well, I'll wait and see how it plays live in a stadium setting. But right now, the voice just doesn't add much to the piece IMHO.

I have 3 extra tickets for Quarters: Section EE Row 8. Face Value: $40.00 Each. Contact me or post here if interested.

I think that these numbers should take into consideration the actual room for improvement that each corps had. For example, if Cadets and Bluecoats both increased their scores by 1.5, but Cadets only had 3.5 possible points to make up while Bluecoats had 8.0 points to make up (i.e. reach 100), then the 1.5 point increase for Cadets is a much higher percent increase when based on the total points available to increase. With that said, I would be surprised if Bluecoats or a corps from the middle to lower top 12 did not average the highest raw point increase, they simply have more total points available to them.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this past year, didn't the initial offering of tickets occur in Providence at the same time that Quarters were starting in Foxboro? I was at the stadium and frantically called to secure tickets once they were available over the phone. So this is actually better, because it is one less thing to worry about doing during Finals week. If DCI wants to truly reward the long-time fan, they should give first dibs on the Super 3 tickets to those who purchased them the previous year. Reward the fans who continually buy the Super 3 packs.

Well I will leave the debate about the announcement itself to those who care to quibble over such things. But, as for the actual music they've selected, I am only familiar with the "Urban Dances" piece. I just remember hearing it on public radio and immediately thinking "Now that would be a great piece for drum corps!" And it was around the time that the Cadets did the New York show and then Bluecoats did the Urban Dances show, so I was afraid no one would do it for fear of not being cutting edge enough. But I guess a few years have passed, so thank you Crown for selecting "Urban Dances"! I can't wait.

I actually sold my extra finals week tickets in 2004 to a director of a high school jazz band from Alberta who was in Denver to witness DCI live. He was ultimately hoping to use his jazz band (along with others in the area) to start something. But the point is, if you never actually get to see the activity live, it is next to impossible to spark the interest required to grow the activity. This problem is more substantial when the lack of contests and exposure is coupled with a lack of marching arts activities at the high school level. Alas, without substantial changes in the system in Canada, I don't think we'll ever see a Canadian corps in D1. And as for the Quebecois corps, I always thought that they should have played the foreign language card as a recruiting tool, i.e. have U.S. HS and college students join the corps as a sort of French (to the extent that Quebecois is actually French) immersion program. Maybe it would be easier to get 20 or so kids willing to join up for the French educational experience along with the musical or guard training and experience. L'Academie Musicale had the perfect name for this sort of thing because it sounds like a school already. Oh well, I guess Les Stetnors might try this marketing technique.

Another example of an absolutely awful drop followed by an even worse recovery is Star 1993. After seeing it on the big screen, it was even more egregious. The sabre lost her sabre seemingly on the way up, not on the catch, as the sabre went a good 10 yards sideways. Well, after running through the form of percussion (I believe), she retreats back to the sabre triangle that had gone off in the opposite direction. She had to scamper what seemed like 15 yards to catch up. Now I wonder if that mistake was enough to account for the .1 loss by Star that night? The only thing that may have saved her was that this occurre in the back of the field. Oh well, we'll never know officially.