jhallman

Loved the number of corps on the field all with great shows, it's June, I enjoy seeing where a show can improve and recognize when the scores keep you in the hunt and I've got no problem with the gaps Cadets/BD versus PR/SCV - I just thought the BK show should have been closer with PR/SCV scores. BD horns were really freaking loud. Mandarins had the only show where I thought I had seen the whole show, every other show there was so much happening I'll need to see them again. If Cadets could somehow figure how to get the red marching memmbers into the white unis, I'll declare them the winner. Otherwise it looks like two corps on the field. 1 hour car ride, $5 Bridge Toll, 4 tickets, 160 bucks. Food vendors cash only and another 40 bucks. Cheesburger and Garlic fries were excellent tho. No program.. too many people in the stands talking to others around them about drum corp, scores, history, and the show. Way too much time for intermission. Should have started at 6pm instead of 6:45pm. The Transition between the Pit sections coming and leaving the field needs to be fixed. Sometimes it really seems to make more sense to have them all use the same podium and sound equipment. Adjust during th warmup. And for goodness sake, stop putting BDC on after BDB. Build up..BDC, Revolution, SCVC, then BDB..sheesh. Encore...put the hornline in a semi circle at the rails in front of the crowd not in the field and to the right. That's just silly. And while I'm at it, why not have the encore before the scores? Nothing worse than having the pit equipment on the field during the scores and freaking give the DM/CG captains something to take home besides a hand shake! I'll probably stream it to my TV next year and pay a reasonable price to see another show and chat with you guys.

First let me say how wonderful it is to see an Open Class Corp out west so soon in the season other than BDB and SCVC. Saw them in Stanford last night with 28 horns and only 15 colorguard, SCVC and BDB had closer to 30. Sound was good. The guard carry around car tires and their uniform colors are inline with the marching memmbers so I was interested to see how the tires got used but I never saw a wow moment with them and at times I thought I was watching two shows, the marching members doing one thing and the guard doing something else which I'm sure the staff will work to coordinate alot more and bring up the GE. Also, sometimes the guard throws are tied into chances for a big round of applause for the audience but there were a few drops, with a few less drops I think the audience will get more into the show.

As a parent, I had a tough time with letting my 14 year old travel with 21 year olds. Let the 22 year old's be on staff and make DCA better. in regards to sustainability In 2003, BDB had so few performers, the board seriously looked at folding the organization. Rick and Debbie Odello

Going back to the original discussion, the gaps we see are from one day being judged on one sheet and the next day being judged on a different sheet. Now imagine if all year long, the OC division was judged on the same sheets as WC. Competition after competition, the staff would be listening to judges comments and working on cleaning those pieces as well as adding to the show. When it comes down to finals week, the morning block for OC corps, the nighttime for WC corps. I prefer to compare what I see Visually and hear, I saw Open Class and World Class Semi finals on Fan Network and attended almost all the CA shows. Out of 23 WC corps that performed on Thursday, 6 did not perform on Friday, and 11 more did not perform at Finals. And BDB, this year, performed a production worthy of finals night, not just in exhibition.

and with no crashes! Awesome! Next year, same thing for Open Class purty please?

Way to bring home #14 Blue Devils...Now its time for Football and #14 for Alabama :) Roll Tide Roll

Crown is 4th in Brass, 4th really? The Blue Devils are that much better than everyone else? So you don't have any issue with the judges scores that places the 2nd and 3rd place brass lines ahead of Crown? Just the Blue devils. I see.... I would recommend you become a judge if you could do better job but they probably have enough bias already...or was that your point? The only part of the judging process I'd like to be re-examined is the averaging of two judges scores, it seems they should really do it for all captions, that would more easily identify fair judging. Unfortunately the side affect would be lower scores anmd most likely ALOT tighter spreads but maybe that's not a bad thing. I mean if two judges gave the colorguard a 10.0, you know they were on fire that night.

I believe this year DCI has done alot for Open Class this year, there was mention on the Loud and Live cinecast, better coverage this year, a live weblog for finals. All Good things So instead of trying to go back, why not figure out why bdb and others are doing so well? bdb is easily 50% new members this year hungry to part of a quality program. and for that matter look at Northern California 3 WC - devils, vanguard, mandarins and 3 OC class bdb, bdc, and the cadets. Texas seems to be doing well this year with lots of representation. I think its more of a community thing where instead of one corp having to do it all, lok at ways of working together concentrating on WC shows and being financial responsible.

Thank you Thank you... The Retreat suspense was killing me. Now who do i get permission to post/link to some of those beautiful retreat photos :)

2:01 Michael Boo: Best Color Guard Performance: Spartans way to go spartans!

for anyone having trouble seeing dci.org live blog 1:58 Michael Boo: Best Visual Performance: Blue Devils "B" Saturday August 14, 2010 1:58 Michael Boo 1:58 Michael Boo: 7th - 86.90 7th Regiment Saturday August 14, 2010 1:58 Michael Boo 1:57 Michael Boo: 8th - 86.20 Legends Saturday August 14, 2010 1:57 Michael Boo 1:57 Michael Boo: Best General Effect: Blue Devils "B" Saturday August 14, 2010 1:57 Michael Boo 1:56 Michael Boo: 9th - 84.00 Genesis Saturday August 14, 2010 1:56 Michael Boo 1:56 Michael Boo: 10th - 82.90 Forte Saturday August 14, 2010 1:56 Michael Boo 1:55 Michael Boo: Best Brass Performance: Blue Devils "B" Saturday August 14, 2010 1:55 Michael Boo 1:55 Michael Boo: 11th - 82.30 Colt Cadets Saturday August 14, 2010 1:55 Michael Boo 1:54 Michael Boo: 12th - 76.15 Velvet Knights Saturday August 14, 2010 1:54 Michael Boo 1:53 Michael Boo: DCI Fan Network Fan Favorite Award: Blue Devils "B" Saturday August 14, 2010 1:53 Michael Boo 1:52 Michael Boo: Open Class Jim Jones Leadership Award (drum major): Blue Devils "B" Eddie Pineda Saturday August 14, 2010 1:52 Michael Boo 1:51 Michael Boo: Outstanding Open Class Corps Director: Rick Odello of Blue Devils "B"

http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=0...3b-e1af022d274a

1:39 Michael Boo: The corps are now coming onto the field...just four more to go. I'll post the scores as soon as they are read. Later on, check back with dci.org for my recap analysis of Finals.

from dci.org live blog Michael Boo: Bet the mortgage on them repeating as Open Class Champions.

yup new equipment this year

Go BDB!

Seems the scores are about right. top 5 corps at 95+ next 5 corps at 90-95 rest 85-90 Only change I see tomorrow is SCV will take 6th.

The judges have the top 3 right...cavies just want it more it seems over the last two nights.

My daughter is 17 and has been in BDB for 4 years...trilogy, flight, pursuit, space and 3 years in C corp Last year, BDB had one age-out and marched 125. This year, BDB is probably marching 145 kids, mostly via more colorguard. The night before they head out on tour, the current members from the year before play the previous year's show, I believe its endearingly called hackfest. I was amazed at how many current members were not involved the year before. The pit, for example, was 2 players plus a 3rd who defected to the horn line this year :)

Why guess? Put OC on same sheets. Sure Scores will be low, but the activity as whole will become better. OC is OC because they are not ready yet for a full tour. Finals Week: Friday/Saturday - Qualifying shows at Allentown - OC in the morning, WC at night - 2 nights - same judges Sunday - Quarterfinals Tuesday - Semis - Evening Shows - FanFare (Free) Wed - Finals - Evening Show - FanNetwork (Pay) Thursday I&E for OC - Quarterfinals for WC (OC can enjoy the show, help fill the stadium for Loud and Live) Friday - Semi-finals Top corps OC/WC - FanNetwork (Pay) Saturday - Finals - Top 12....Random Order

The Judges got the top 3 right, none of those shows make you want to jump out of your seats but that does not mean I'm disappointed. I think BD should have called their show Houdini, in the middle of the show, on the field, the corp disappears ...wow.

Yes.

i think wow pretty much sums it up.

I just hope that DCI cares too. It seems that with a little planning - a tour could be created with stops that would allow the Open Class and Maybe even some World Class Corps to travel together and end up at Finals. I looked at the events and locations and was like - did someone just throw a dart at the map and plan a competition? Ultimately a corp needs to get themselves to finals and back. With a lot of West Coast corps, that can be a tall order. How many open class corps travel back home after finals not via plane? BDB has taken a train to gets from the West coast to the Midwest and continue their tour before ending up at finals for the last 3 years and fly back home. Last year, they had to take 3 different flights, I think it is even worse this year. I get the feeling this might be the last time for many reasons, passenger trains are lower priority than freight carrying trains, they simply cannot grasp the fact that 150 teenagers like hamburgers and pizza and they don't stock enough and run out on day one. I don't see how they do it, I could not stand to be in a classroom for an hour much less a train for 48 hours. Boredom creates opportunity to create problems. Logistics, the equipment and food trucks have to leave several days earlier and be there when the corp arrives.

Sidebar your honor..... Permission to treat the poster as hostile.... In the 7 years I've been around this wonderful activity, I've never seen a show I hated. Anyone having been around and seen the amount of time committed to putting together these 11 minute shows should be ashamed to utter anything close to hate. disliked not my cup of tea forgetful or perhaps they seemed like the other 5 corps that had come on before them. and its perfectly fine to be perplexed why corp X is not scoring better. Since being able to go back and watch the older shows everyone raves about, some of them are really cool, And easily seen as groundbreaking, some just not my cup of tea since normally I'm comparing them to the much faster movements I'm seeing today. Your witness....