cjp87

Too variable, too open for individual interpretation, not reliable in any sense of the word when it comes to standardized criteria.

Maybe you were just in a very negative part of the stadium, but I was surrounded by fans of good drum corps instead of bitter curmudgeons, and there was no amount of negativity towards either corps that night. Maybe your portion of the stadium was a more representative sample, but my assumption is that your view of the crowd may be crowded by your view of the corps.

Again, being at the 2008 Finals night, nobody was cheering because BD lost. BD got a standing O and a huge reaction that night. The crowd was cheering because Phantom had them in the palms of their hands. Both corps were heavily appreciated that night.

Just to add some unbiased perspective to the conversation at hand, I'm an Oklahoma native who has only marched three weeks with The Troopers (filled a lead trumpet hole they had in '08 for the end of the season), so I've got no connection to BD other than enjoying their shows, and I have to say, I am always entertained, enthralled, and moved by their shows ('08 in particular since '04). I typically find them as or more entertaining than virtually any corps on the field nearly every year. And just because the '08 finals was discussed, I was there that night, and watched all the top 12 corps several times before finals weekend, and all three times during, I thought I would give my peace on that matter. Phantom absolutely, positively stole the crowd on finals night. It was a ludicrous crowd reaction, and I'm not going to lie, I was right there with them. It was one of the single most powerful environments I've ever experienced in a DCI audience. However, I thought that BD was clearly the better corps that night (and all three, for that matter). They were nearly flawless, and their show was more taxing. Phantom had them in drums, but none of the other captions should have been as close IMO. So for someone to say that PR was 2 points better than BD is insane. I would assert that BD was at least 1 point better than PR, who stole the show by putting out an insanely electric atmosphere that everyone bought (and rightfully so!). Again, this isn't a detraction of PR, because I loved their show (almost as much as I loved BD's). I just think they won by virtue of owning the stadium, not the field.

D'oh! Thanks, clearly I wasn't thinking.

I feel like the Blue Devils executed their show at the highest level of all the corps, and I feel like their show was still the most difficult. After seeing it over five times throughout the season, I loved it and never got tired of seeing something newly absurd each time. At first I wasn't too keen on the musical book, I enjoyed it, and thought parts were great, but it felt a bit disjointed. With each viewing, however, I picked up on more and more of the nuances that tie all of the pieces together, and by finals my only gripe with the music is that it could only be 11 and 1/2 minutes long. They were my number 1 this season. However, Phantom Regiment had something incredibly special happen on the field on Finals night. It wasn't just that they were on fire, but the crowd was on fire with them. Never have I seen such a connection between performer and audience in the drum corps world. Nearly every person in the stands was in the palm of Phantom's hand, and the standing ovation that began with nearly a minute left of the show, and didn't end until the Devils were almost set up attests to this. Easily the most emotional show I've ever seen, and I'm kindof saddened that I won't get to experience it live again. You dinosaurs talk of the times when the corps didn't just earn a standing O, but instead yanked the crowd out of their seats and the babies out of their hands. This show did just that. The mello soloist was incredible, by the way. Cavies were fun and entertaining as always (and even more so at retreat!), but I felt like they were outclassed by the other two this year. The tricks and drill moves were still very Cavies and cool to watch, but I wasn't as floored this year as I normally am. The brass book left a bit to be desired in my opinion, though that hornline definitely has the blend and balance thing down pat. Lots of pleasant sounds coming off the field. Also, I don't know why, but the section where the drumline sneaks across the field one by one captivates me every time. Crowns hornline is amazing. If I had to pick one word to describe it, it would be rich. I had a conversation with Jim Mason of Star of Indiana fame, and he agreed. Their show this year was like musical dessert for 11.5 minutes, and I loved every second of it. Seemed a little off-kilter visually compared to the others up top, but their music more than made up for it. Cadets march and play like crazy, and are still amazingly talented. I again had to ignore an addition to this to fully appreciate their hard work, but I'm glad I can look past that one thing, because there's a great corps to be enjoyed there. Bloo has such a nice sound. Very, very fun show, tasteful use of narration. The halt on the side 2 40 was nothing short of breathtaking. Vanguard's first half was wonderful, their second half average. If they had kept the momentum from the second tune going, they could have been stellar. Seemed a bit dirty visually. Blue Stars definitely earned their spot in finals in a big way. Great show, though some of the body motion seemed kindof strange. Here's to more growth for this great corps. Blue Knights... they're good, good sound, pretty clean drill. I just can't get into the whole body motion thing they're way into right now. I think they played their horns least of anyone in finals, possibly in DCI. I did really like the tuba pedals at the beginning, however. Nothing against all the hard work and effort, they did a great job this year. Boston had something pretty great going on this year, lots of good moments. I would've put them ahead of BK. The Doppler effect stuff was really neat. They probably pulled it off the best out of anyone this year. I liked the Glassmen's show, but I can't really remember too much from it except for the balloons. I guess I just didn't get into it that much. Finally, it's great to see Madison back in finals, and what a show to do it with. They were definitely dirtier than the rest of the top 12 visually, but they had such a fun show I didn't really care. Great latin stuff going on, lots of character and attitude coming off the field, and a pretty strong brassline for a 12th place corps. Hopefully they can build on their success for next year. Overall, if ever there were a year to get the finals DVD, this would be it. Top to bottom, this is definitely one of my favorite years of the decade. Must haves in my opinion though, are BD, Phantom, Crown, 'Coats, Cavies, and Madison. Also, the return of the company front is pretty awesome. Hopefully it sticks around for awhile.

World Class 1 Blue Devils 85.200 2 Phantom Regiment 84.150 Open Class 1 Oregon Crusaders 71.300 2 Spokane Thunder 66.950 3 Velvet Knights 66.050

Called the Troopers, got a hold of the Bingo operator, and gave him my contact information to give to the Corps. I guess it's time to play the waiting game, now.

I thought that the soloist in '03-'05 was Scott Dean with his signature double C? Blue Devils, being my favorite corps, have also produced my favorite shows of the 2000's. '00, '01, and '06 all hold a special place in my heart, but '03 and '04 are where it's at. '03's title couldn't have been more accurate. Everything about that show exudes an aura of 'cool'. It's just so laid back while being incredibly bad***, it's magic. The solo in the ballad is masterful, and Brubeck and the Devils were a perfect fit. Gives me chills every time. Plus, I saw this show at the first DCI contest I ever witnessed. '04 took classic BD jazz back to the in your face style of the 80's, in contrast to the laid back intensity throughout '03. The multiple solos were a treat in the first movement, the dirty jazz in the middle is thick and juicy, and the third movement gets the blood pumping all the way up until the solo sop wailing at the end. Plus I was at finals that year, and their exit was classic. Edit: Not to neglect '02, '05, and '07, those were all fantastic shows as well (especially the Pegasus homage in '07), but '03 and '04 are the pinnacle of the 2000's to me. I haven't seen anything this year, so that's still on the ballots.

From my experience, the Blue Devils have the best website with the most effort put into constant updates and fan services.

This is funny (while true) because for the longest time, my two favorite corps were BD and Cavs. Now it's BD followed by Phantom, Cavs, Coats, and Vanguard in any order. I know, I'm bad at picking. Anywho, I've been avoiding any recordings because I want to be shocked and awed in San Antonio, but I really like that Blue Devils/Anyone catch the number on that truck analogy used earlier.

Email's on the way. I just feel a little more comfortable gathering all the information first, because I'm not certain I'll be able to do this. But, the ball is officially rolling.

Email pending. Anybody know where the Troopers are currently located on their tour/what the demand for this will be? I've been aching for drum corps for ages, and this might be a way to slip in. I'm in Oklahoma, BTW.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I'm in OU's marching band with a few people who marched that show last year, and we've discusses the demand. I know it's there, and there was definitely something special in the kids to put that much work out over summer, but you also have to look in comparison. Demand in DCI to me is difficult marching and difficult playing. Coupling the two will obviously make the show even more demanding. The Cavaliers have found a design that allows for very, very difficult drill and music to fit it. They occasionally put out a package that is entertaining both visually and musically ('04 and '07 for me). However, that design that they've found seamlessly separates the two. Their music is nothing to scoff at in demand, and their drill is downright amazing, but they're always separate, however masterfully blended they may be. Truman broke down a few shows last year by the brass playing and their rate of movement, and like I said, it exposes the Cavaliers's design. It's their way of strategically making a wonderful visual package while keeping the music enjoyable (and again, sometimes pretty great), but in terms of playing while marching, they're definitely outshined in the demand department by corps like Phantom. The Cavaliers are always one of my favorites each year, by the way, so there is no malice in my reasoning.

Although I really liked last year's Cavies show, this analysis by Truman does expose the design the Cavaliers employ. Again, I enjoy the Cavaliers, but if demand is part of the equation, this should play some factor into it.

Just to interject this... I think the Cavies two best shows of the 2000s as far as entertainment value and enjoyability go were 2004 and 2007. Would you believe that they actually used music I still listen to in my car that doesn't require the visual package to remain wholly engaging? I still really love seeing Cavies shows, they entertain with the best of 'em, and are always impressive, but the music is generally an addendum to the drill. With '04 and '07 I feel they cared about the music as much as or even moreso than the drill, and that makes them so much better.

Inspired by pags, this is a topic for those of you who have seen the encores to talk about who played the encore, what they played, and just your overall impressions of them. Also, does anyone know who's doing the encore for San Antonio?

To be honest, I haven't heard anything in WGI, and I don't doubt they've done some great things there, but to me one of the impressive things about drum corps is the vast variety of music they can perform at such a high level while still keeping it unique to the activity, i.e. played with brass and percussion. The more artificial qualities you add, the more diluted the activity becomes. I'm open about my disdain for narration and amplification of voice in drum corps (though I do think amped pits is a good thing if done properly because it allows for more musicality), and I feel that the more you add to the activity, the less creativity the activity will spawn. Necessity is the mother of all invention, right? If you have an idea, and you're limited on how to achieve this idea, you create a new method with the equipment you have. Vanguard's helicopter is the perfect example of this. As I said a couple posts ago, I think that electronic instruments have their place, and can be great within their realms, but drum corps should not be one of them.

Sorry, but I feel like everything about that would be horrible. :(

Here, let me try. The "fake sound" that he is talking about is the digital representation of an acoustic instrument. As the digital representation can never create a perfect match to the true acoustic tone, it will always appear to be a not-quite-there imitation (fake), as opposed to the original sound it is trying to emulate (real). An example for you: Take these pictures of the sound wave of an acoustic/analog sound versus a digital sound. Notice how the analog sound is smooth and free of artifacts? These artifacts create a different timbre than an artifact-free representation. I know that I can clearly hear the difference between a real and artificial trumpet.

This was my opinion last year in August, and it's still my opinion today. For electronic music. Yes, it's music, and yes, it has its place. I absolutely love progressive rock (Rush, Dream Theater, etc). There are a lot of keyboards in that genre, and it fits. I'll even concede that playing a keyboard to imitate a piano, so long as it's just using the keys and pedal, no tricks or programs, is pretty comparable. But what about using a bass-line setting on a synthesizer. Do you think it takes the same amount of talent to play 16th note arpeggios on a keyboard as it does a marching tuba? Is it as hard to press your fingers down on a key as it is to learn all the fundamentals and nuances of a brass instrument? Because a synthesizer can produce a tone very similar to that of a brass instrument, with absolutely none of the work required. How about something a little closer to the keyboard's home base, a marimba? What's going to take more finesse and talent, playing a marimba with the exact style and precision necessary to pull off a finalists book, knowing how your wrist movements and articulations have to be to get the exact sound desired, or pressing the corresponding keys on a keyboard that is programmed to put out nearly identical sounds, with none of the technique? (Yes, I know it takes talent to play a keyboard, but the production of the sound does not). Then there's the slippery slope of progammable keyboards that take out even the piano-like technique, and just do it all for you. Maybe a keyboard is necessary to add in sound effects? How about a helicopter effect, that can't be done with acoustic instruments, right? I believe electronic production of instrumental tones is the wrong direction for DCI. I like electronic instruments in their respective venues, but I don't think that this is one of them. Also, from a very respected member of the Blue Devils forums: Let me add only this: If I sit down at a piano (or an electronic version...) and am instructed to play a C, I can do it. First time - every time. Same with just about anyone else. If you hand a newbie a horn and tell them to play ANY note - it may take years before you hear that note with a sound you'd want to hear again and again. Synthesizers are instruments that play music, but you just don't have to be very good to make a decent sound on them (in fact, everyone makes exactly the same sound....). But on brass and percussion - you DO have to be that good. And you have to be REALLY good to play brass and percussion that well, while moving at 180bpm+ and spread apart by 100 yards or more -

Took your advice and found a retail store that sold tickets, thanks for letting me know they even did that! It was as easy as looking at what seats were open, picking those seats, and paying. Still had the ludicrous convenience charge (because really, it wasn't that much more convenient given what I went through beforehand), but now I'm sitting towards the front of the upper deck, about four seats to the left of the 50.

Okay, I've talked to DCI, the Alamodome, and now Ticketmaster's phone line, and I have yet to talk to a person that can allow me to pick my seats rather than using Ticketmaster's ****ed "best available seating" feature. I just want to say, "What seats are available as close to the 50 yard line as possible, in the upper deck, as far forward as possible?" That's all I want. The Alamodome redirected me to DCI, DCI redirected me to Ticketmaster, and Ticketmaster wants to give me seats optimal for football rather than drum corps. Shenanigans!

Best hold music ever. Thanks a bunch, seems like this is going to work.

I called the Alamodome to buy my tickets for San Antonio, and they gave me this phone number to call, 630-628-7888. This turns out to be the DCI headquarters phone number, or so I believe. Anyway, I've been calling it for a few days now, and all I've gotten is a busy tone, regardless of what time I call. Anybody else try to order tickets this way, or is anyone else familiar with this problem?