Bluefan

Ah, sorry. That would be me showing my lack of age

I actually got the chance to jump with the staff at semifinals in 2003. That was FUN. And to answer your question, I don't think they do that anymore.

I'm kind of glad they tied. It would suck to be the lowest placing corps in the history of semifinals.

Anyone know what time this shin-dig starts? For that matter, what time it ends and what are all the times in between? I can't open the pdf file on dci.org, I click it and an error occurs (and I do have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat).

I'm with murphpuppy, haven't noticed many Phantom bashers 'round these here parts, but in case they are reading...shame on you. Phantom has arguably the best/hardest visual program they've ever put on the field and IMO in the top three for demanding drill this year and top two for interesting drill. As far as music goes, I'm afraid I can't comment too much on demand as I am not qualified to do so. Even so, I think almost everyone agrees they sound great and are entertaining regardless of how hard some may think it is or is not.

Yeah, what Willis was talkin' 'bout. I think lower places mean more now than they did about 15 years ago. 9th, 10th, heck even 14th place shows are all EXCELLENT this year. Take SCV and Blue Knights: both putting together really good shows that seem like they could be higher but aren't placing that way. They aren't getting hosed, the competition is really really good. To all you SCV defenders: 9th place is something to be very proud of, not mad about. ps- I would love to see BD or Cadets in 9th next year. Top four Bluecoats, Cavaliers, Madison, and Phantom! GO INACCURATELY NAMED MIDWEST! (honestly, we're SO the middle east).

Bluecoats and Madison both have shows that are better than Blue Devils' on so many levels. But I do have to admit, as painful to watch as I think BD's show is, they still have tons and tons of talent which is what I think should matter more; after all, it has more to do with the kids than the staff.

So it looks like the most exciting competition is happening from 5th to 11th (more namely 5th and 6th, 7th and 8th, and 9th 10th and 11th). No "whale of a tussle at the top" this year (my favorite pbs broadcast quote).

blueoriginal, in what way are you shocked? Good, Bad, or Ugly

On a side note: Do they still start announcing some of the scores before the end of the show for quarters and semis?

If woodwinds are ever allowed on the field...somebody is going to need to innovate the heck out of horn moves.

Tell me what you think of this idea for a product from DCI. Custom DVDs - You choose which performances are included and in what order they appear. pros- very consumer friendly, includes your favorite performances, allows for you to make "collections" (ie - Best of ____, Championship Shows, Shows I/Family Member Was In, etc.) cons- likely expensive as they will not be mass produced, might not be profitable as it might reduce the sales of regular dvds It might be more realistic to offer the sales of individual dvd performances in the form of files that you can download. That way there would not be a high production cost for DCI. So is this feasable? Has somebody already suggested this? Is this already available (in other words, am I an idiot)? What do you think?

Please please please do not bring an umbrella...unless you are in Phantom Regiment. Ponchos are vastly superior for you and those behind you.

Okay that's one way to look at it. One very sad way to look at it. I think the shows get better every single year (generally speaking) and I continue to be more and more impressed with what the members are doing out there. The shows are getting harder, faster, and more complex. So what if all the corps try and sell souvies to make money or sign big contracts with major companies to keep competitive. DO NOT TELL ME THIS MEANS THERE IS LESS PRIDE!!! I marched only one year ago and am ####### proud of it. DCI, along with most of the corps, are moving in a direction. I think for the better, you think for the worse, lets agree to disagree and not trash anything or anyone.

yes phantom starts page 3, IMG 2342

All the afternoon scores were inflated in comparison to the evening scores. For example: Spirit afternoon scored - 84.15, evening they scored - 81.625. You are correct, "lower" corps do fluctuate more. It's just isn't as bad as these numbers make it seem.

Why am I only writing about the top six? I wanted to check the lines out in the parking lot because I sure as heck wasn't going to hear anything inside the RCA Dome. Also as a result from the horrible acoustics inside, I will be commenting mostly on the visual design and performance of the corps. Bluecoats - I'm a huge fan of the show. Excellent field coverage and lots of listening demand (from what I could tell, fairly well performed, but again...dome). The performance of the drill was definitely below that of the five corps above them, however I do believe once the visual program is cleaned (if it gets cleaned) it will be in contention with and possibly pass Madison, Devils, and Phantom. For now, I do think sixth place is right for them, though I think the 2+ point spread between them and Madison should be smaller. Phantom - First time I've seen this show. It rocked. I'm tempted to say it is the hardest and most interesting drill Phantom has ever marched...though I did not get the opportunity to see their show last year. Visual execution was good and the guard was great (from what I know, which is very little). As for the drum break...I was not overly pleases with. I saw the line in the lot, and they can play. It's just that I didn't care for the design, came of as kind of cheesy or high-school-ish; I'm sure plenty will disagree. All in all, DEFINITELY deserved the placement. Great job Phantom! Madison Scouts - I've seen this show several times this year. Tonight's performance was on fire. They have done a ton of work cleaning feet and it is paying off. Although it is my fifth favorite visual program of the top six tonight, they are doing a great job with it. I still don't like Carmen. I hate singling one member of the corps out, but I really really don't like her. Please don't think I'm sexist, I just believe the choreography she has to perform is an atrocity. It reminds me of Conan O'brien at the beginning of his show. ANYWAY, I felt the quality of performance and the design of the show deserved to beat the Blue Devils Blue Devils - Hey, how was Europe? People like you over there? Didn't seem like anybody did tonight. The worst crowd reaction of the top six, and probably the worst crowd reaction they've ever gotten in the history of their organization. Musically the show did not seem to have much depth and the visual program was not the usual caliber of the Blue Devils, performance or design. Marching needs much improvement to stay ahead of Madison and Bluecoats. The dome hurt this show the most as the narration was difficult to understand. I felt they should have finished fifth, almost half a point behind Madison. The Cadets - I really dislike The Cadets and it kills me to say I really like this show and I do think they deserved to beat the Cavaliers. Very good, smart show design. Visual program is not as fun to watch as the Cavies, but it is very hard and it is being performed at a very high level. Musically it is interesting and works very well for the "story" they are telling, though it is not catchy and is void of any breath-taking moments; I suppose that's the trade-off you have to have. I bet money this show wins come finals. The Cavaliers - I'm going to say something and you are all going to say "Duh." Nobody moves like these guys. Duh. The drill is so fascinating to watch and the technique they march (along with the quality they are marching at) projects some sort of grandure to the stands. Unfortunately the music is not pulling its weight. I'd almost like to see the Cavaliers play 10 minutes of silence, in which they would simply run around and do ridiculously hard, cool looking drill. The show did deserve second place and will, IMO, stay there the rest of the season. Those are my thoughts and impressions...sorry this is a very poor review; I know that, but perhaps there was something in there you hadn't heard. All the best!

Close stuff there in the 3 (or 4) through 6 spot. Lets all hope for some upsets, any upsets, tomorrow at Indianapolis!

Along with the other scores from tonight, it seems like this season is turning into pretty much the norm up at the top, with the exception of SCV.

w/Stp: It is less uncool on a smaller scale, but it is still wrong. Morals are what you do when nobody is looking.

Dang it all; this was the most likely year for things to be shaken up too!!! (IMO) By the way Mike, it sounds ridiculous, but if everybody voting used a voting bot...I think it would work out to be fair. We'd just have eleventy-billion fourteen thousand shfifty five votes.

I'm hoping more exciting things start happening soon

Stephanie and Carolyn, If you are using Netscape 7.2, the yellow exclamation point should be at the bottom right of the screen, but you need to be sure the status bar is enabled (View -> Show/Hide -> Status Bar; this need to have a check mark next to it). Once you can see the exclamation point you should be able to double click it and add dci.org to your list of "sites to allow pop-ups." Note: once you add dci.org to the list, you have to leave the page, then go back to dci.org again. Good luck and happy voting.

Wow, so I suppose they win the biggest jump in a single year too.

Don't bother with that guy WhiteWaterCavie