60sSOP

I am a little surprised that not one person mentioned Nature Boy. Even though I admit to being a Cavalier FMM, that is not the reason for my choice. I have always been in love with this enchanting melody and was elated when it was chosen this year. I thought the arrangement was haunting and beautiful and the power chord at the end was as powerful and moving as anything all night and has stuck with me even more than it had before.

I completely agree with your observation. I would just like to say and I hope that this would also get back to the young people in BK. Regardless of how they "place" this corps for a while now has an approach to musical expression that is to my ear and heart a wonderful balance of technical learning to the end result of expressing true emotion in their music. Take last years rendition of the Nimrod it was every bit as good and better than CC IMO. It was tear rendering beautiful. I always look forward to seeing them. Even though I am a relic from the 60s having 4 titles with the Cavaliers and still play professionally and will always bleed green I look to corps like the BKs to educate and extend the drum corps experience to anyone who is fortunate to join them.

I am not familiar enough to comment or validate the alleged Boston vs BK heist. What I am surprised by though is that no one has even noticed or commented that the Cadets completely heisted the This Is My Rifle sequence from the Cavaliers only with skinny shiny flashy poles this year. WTF?

By additions that does not necessarily mean "gimmicks" sometimes it is clarification of an idea musically or visually to make it all more cohesive and more times than not with most corps it is a bigger more convincing ending that brings the whole thing together. We will see, I am sure all the corps have additions to make.

All I can say to all of this is Pandora's box was opened by letting too much band influence into what was formerly drum corps. People didn't understand what the big deal was and now we have loud bands that march better. With electronics, voices, guitars, etc. Oh Well, it will never be the same and maybe it shouldn't have but we did lose something in the process.

Thanks for moving this to this forum. I did not mean for this to be in the review section in the first place. The whole idea of this was not to slam any reviewer per se, but to make sure we overcome our biases and really see what is going on on the field with corps we do not necessarily back and take note just as to why they are being successful at a given time beyond the so called gimmicks. When people say it is their "Cavaliers" turn this year I just don't know what to begin to say to that. If that were true we should just forget this whole thing and find something more useful to do with our time. Although the judging isn't perfect for the most part over the season they get it it right at the end. The last half of the season should be quite entertaining because the corps are starting to come into their own now. "Back in the day" for me meaning the mid/late sixties in the Cavaliers we had the attitude if you can beat us bring it on and we sometimes lost and sometimes corps did bring it but that was the way it was. The Blue Devils have had that attitude for years, I think the Cavaliers seem to be putting on that suit right now and there are a few corps that just might do it and that is the fun of it all.

Not so far. They haven't proved that yet, maybe they will. I am guessing this show is far from complete if it were that would be the first time in at least 30 years.

I have read just about all the reviews of the shows this year and I have been excited as to the quality of so many of the corps this year. I admit my bias as a Cavalier from the 60s just to get that out of the way, but I am a drum corps fan and a fan of all the corps and enjoy anything that is well put together and performed at a high level. That being said here is my b---h. This year the Cavaliers have won every show except the first which they lost by .2 and most of them by decisive margins. They are pleasing the fans and the judges alike and most of what I hear from the self proclaimed experts here is about the upside down tenors and trumpets and the stilts (did you ever think maybe the stilts are there to add dimension, they aren't dragging out scaffolds and boxes etc) and if it wasn't for that that somehow they wouldn't be where they are. They are having a great season because at least thus far they have marched, played horns and drummed "collectively" better than anyone else, to a drill that is difficult, fast moving and brilliant. Playing a diverse program of Bach, Wayne Shorter and an American standard at a high level of quality and volume while moving that everyone criticized for years. I for one am pleased that the show has a diffuse or no theme and no story line. If you want a story buy a book. Since when did that have to be the criteria anyway. It is just 150 guys trying to lay it down, that's the story save the rest of it, it is really a very simple story. I take nothing away from any other corps, I personally think the Cadets are outstanding with a great difficult show as well, as well as several others. All I am saying is give credit where it is due or you make a fool of yourself. I wasn't a big fan of the recent shows by the Blue Devils Championships but they were the best corps on the field. I didn't care much for Cadets show in 2005 but good God what an incredible deserving corps. You get my point. OK I feel better now.

Here's an idea the announcer introduces the corps, the Drum Major turns and salutes then returns and commences to direct the corps. The starting gun goes off at the first movement or note thereafter. The writers and the corps become responsible to create and establish the mood and gain the audiences involvement inside the time that it is actually being judged. I know it might stifle modern so called creativity and confuse people to have a uniform beginning and startle a few people who will hear the gun for the first time, but what the hell.

I cannot speak for anything but trumpets but I am surprised that Kanstul and BD did not work out an arrangement. I played a Yamaha Xeno from the Cavaliers for the Cavalier Anniversary Corps and found it to be a very good instrument but prefer my Kanstul Chicago model over all. Then again his other marching instruments may not match up. Also Selmer is a large company and can probably offer a deal that Zig cannot match.

Part of the reason that it seems that "you've seen that all before" from the Cavaliers is that because of their dominance and excellence this decade especially the early part, everyone has copied so many elements of what they do you've not only seen them do it before, you've seen many of what once were signature moves in almost every corps before them that very night and didn't realize it. Please remember there are former Cavaliers working on staff for many competitive corps right now. This is not sour grapes it is the highest form of flattery. It happens all the time, always has always will. Anyone that thinks the Cavaliers are about to roll over must have walked through the door the Cadets rolled out in 2005 and not got back through. Congrats by the way to the Cadets on their 75th and for getting back through the door themselves this year.

I agree, futhermore, I think that the Cadets, Cavaliers, Vanguards, Knights, Crusaders, Scouts, Regiment, etc., or any other group that implies or references such antiquated, militaristic references should change their name immediately by DCI rule.t At least the Blue Devils are safe because there certainly isn't anything un-PC about referring to yourself as a Devil. The use of uniforms where a group of individuals are seen or act in a way that the individual not be recognized as themselves in that group be banished less their self-esteem be injured. I am sure that the rifles will be replaced by saxaphones, flutes and bassoons before any child actually injures themselves by emulating a drum corps anyway, so not to worry. :sshh:

I can tell you from my POV that your show at finals was incredible. I had not seen a drum corps show almost since 1969 when I was a soloist with the Cavaliers and won Legion Nationals. I decided to go to Atlanta after 15 years away drum corps and when that Blue Devils horn line played I thought I had been transcended to another realm. The power and cleanliness blew me away and was hoping you would win but I believe you lost by 1 tenth. I hope you have seen the show on tape just to know how good it was. Corps in DCI days have had it better, in terms that there are tapes of the shows. I marched for 5 years won 4 national titles and saw only 1 show video taped poorly (1967 American Legion Nationals) and believe me there were alot of legendary corps, battles, and shows in those days as well.

My favorite BD shows and overall favorite top 10 shows did not win. One being 88 when they should have won. The other 2002, which might have won any other year but could not overcome the Cavaliers of that year as nobody could. I thought they deserved to win this year as a corps but the show was boring as hell to me after the first few minutes and if they wouldn't have been playing FFF seemingly the whole last half I would have gone to sleep. I thought last years show was more moving and better written and stayed more in context. This years deserved championship performance will not go down as one of the best all time shows IMHO but I applaud their drive, spirit, and performance of it.

I like the fact that you have a sense of humor about yourselves. I wish more of that was displayed in the show, you might have been wearing a ring right now if more of that had been exposed. Because IMHO although I may have missed it, there was nothing in the dialogue that said you are having fun, it was to much about hard work discipline or being a misfit. You were a great corps and did the best you could under unusual circumstances and took alot of heat for it and came #### close. We sometimes forget what young people endure with all the crap thrown on here and from fans, judges, staff etc. I hope that as you get older you enjoy the 2 titles you earned and look back at the other years with joy as well. I had the priviledge of winning 4 national titles back in the 60s and wish that every young person in this activity could have had the fun and experience I have had.