Scerpella

Open Class Bush with one more horn than Class A Govies! Hornline started out solid but s getting ragged midway in. Drum line fairly solid.

Yeah, I don't really buy that kilts automatically ruin visual. I have sat and watched many corps in DCA with their black pants and black shoes march like complete crap. Just because you can mitigate the visual effect of bad marching more easily with pants doesn't change the fact that bad marching is bad marching. And there have been years in the near past where Kilties have had great feet and technique and the visual was enhanced by it. The only negative to me of the Kilties uniform is that the tams are not all identical nor are they all worn in the same way, the plaids are not worn uniformly, and the sporrans are not identical either. Its not that there are all sorts of things on the Kilties uniform that are swinging and swaying, its that they are not swinging and swaying the same way on every member. Any visual effect is fine as long as its uniform. Its is why no one ever came up with this criticism of the Jr Kilties.

I think calls to have the Kilties stop wearing kilts are a bit premature. It is perhaps the most distinctive uniform in drum corps. Visual weaknesses only seem to be a problem in years where the marchers are not as strong or like this year when there are a lot of rookies. Typically the uniform is more of an asset than weakness. i guarantee that if you switch the Kilties to another bibber wearing unit, they will lose any cachet they have. In fact I would not be surprised if there was a negative backlash from a move like that. I dont think its a bad idea to look at ways to mitigate the spats, but losing the kilt would be a horrible idea.

That is Foxy, but it was the guy to the right Jim Piscitello who passed away shortly after joining DCP.

Really? Nothing changes at this point in the season

Like that will matter? Performance is secondary in DCI.

Where was your seat? BTW the arrangements are pretty much dictated by Scott. If you don't like what the arranger is doing, your problem is with Stewart. In the corps defense, they are marching quite a few rookies. Pretty huge turnover in the hornline.

Why don't you just say FYWW?

Correct, small expressions and movements do not play in the stands. Camera closeups show what was intended to be seen from a greater distance. That said, I'm fairly certain no one cares about corny acting when its one of the top four.

fusion hoverpods

So I am at the White Sox game Tuesday night at Commiskey and for some strange reason I feel compelled to stop and not enter the seating area while there is someone at bat!

Umm yeah. We had guys from the 60's coming directly up to us in the 70's and telling us how we werent living up to their standards. People have never been shy about criticizing changes which alter the activity in ways they believe are destructive. In retrosepct, some of the those criticisms were valid because in the DCI age, drum corps has become an activity with much fewer kids and corps participating, and barriers to entry erected keeping more from starting.

I spoke to Leckrone about that back in the late 70's. He changed the key a number of times for the corps. It was their show concept, he just arranged it for them. Can't completely blame him. Blame the geniuses who came up with the show.

Madison's closer is weak? Sheesh. I saw it at Drums On Parade (home crowd) and they got a predictable response,, standing O last minute of the show. I then saw them at DCI Minn and the same thing happened!. In a show with all corps present except Pioneer, the only corps that approached them in crowd response was Crown. You take what happens, what the show is about and the theme is performed brilliantly. This is about 9-11. The visual is perfectly appropriate. The emotional pacing is appropriate. ESOM is the ray of hope after 9-11. For all the crap Scouts have taken for not having theme shows in the past, they come up with one of the best I've ever seen and now apparently people are upsets because they don't have flipping parallelograms and crazy geometry happening during a selection where it would seem completely out of place.

huh?

I must have been paying attention to something different than Guapo because Madison essentially received a standing O for the entire last minute of their show from an admittedly homer crowd. Except the same thing happened at DCI Minn Saturday. Some folks apparently are having trouble understanding the story track of the show, which is somewhat understandable since my first viewing of the dress rehearsal left me puzzled as well. BUt its not really that hard to see what an ingenious bit of programming NY, NY was which then morphs effortlessly into Oh what a beautiful morning, which might confuse folks as to why there is a tune from Oklahoma here, but once one understands that we are talking about the morning of 9-11 then things make perfect sense. The payoff is a ominous front with OWABM played in a minor key full of foreboding and portent by powerful baritones. I have not been a fan of Madison shows which sandwiched a great opener and closer around an emotional ballad in previous years. It seemed like they were trying to add contrast for contrasts sake. This years show once understood, is one of the finest examples of taking a powerful emotional subject and putting it into music and marching in a way that does not become cloying or maudlin. You are taken on a journey starting in a New York morning, experiencing first the foreboding then horror of 9-11 and end up with healing and hope. Not your fathers Madison Scouts at all. To me this show gives me goosebumps like the only corps who has done it to me in the last 10 years 2008 Phantom Regiment (and you dont know how it hurt me to admit that!) The visual performance is completely appropriate to what is being conveyed. Perfect geometry is counter intuitive to the idea of the chaos of 9-11. I am completely at a loss as to how this show is ranked 10th in GE. It seems powerful emotional themes are reserved for only the perennial top 4.

Scouts cant win with some people. In context of the subject matter of their show, the drill design is completely appropriate. As for some folks talking about scatter drills, I counted 8 out of the top 12 with significant aleatoric time. To try and criticize Scouts for doing what literally every contender is, perhaps notably except Cavies is simply ridiculous. What they seem to be getting no credit for is a show that communicates better than most if not all of the top twelve. Whoever thinks they are dirty is also likely looking at them with another agenda.

Junior Kilties 1972, though not as a closer.

I thought it was pretty clear, good closers have to be heard in person to be appreciated. Because of your age you can not comment on music that was performed before your time. We are not in an age of the traditional closer, havent been there for about 15 or more years. This is why I agree with the OP that it is a throwback and very good. And you really have to see it live to appreciate it. This is like the Power Ballad closers of the 90's and before. Corps are simply not going for that kind of effect any more, where the emotion of something is the primary outcome. As good as for example Scouts 99 closer from JC Superstar was (and the insane crowd reaction for it) it is not in the same category (throwback)

Personally I am so done with the "Madison park n blow" blather the same people come up with every time someone has a good word to say about them. People who have a huge bug in their butts repeating the same old tired things which havent been applicable for a decade. Consider their visual program since 2003 it has been vastly different from old Madison. Hello, Myron Rosander drill? Track meets! Too many folks with their own agenda and anti Madison bias who were perfectly happy with judging when Scouts were just barely making finals, now want to crap on their success. Scatter drills? Jeezus look at the videos for the past 10-15 years, theirs plenty of it including among the top three.

wow not only clueless but a jerk. check corpsreps my friend and youll see the top 5 is just as likely to repeat classic selections. Rocky Point, Appalachian Spring West Side Story, Conquest, anyone? Last time Malaguena was done was 1996 genius. More likely from your tone that you are the one with something up his butt about Madison.

Back in the last years of the Blue Stars finalists days ( late 70's) there was very little love lost between the Blue Stars and Madison. They had started out as the top DCI Wisconsin finalist and weren't happy to be surpassed by Madison.

Population density mainly. It seems corps only exist when there is sufficient population.

The entire corps had red velvet hatbands and sashes by 1978.

Kind of surprised this would be open to non members