IMcomguy

So in 4 days, Crown goes from being down 3.10 to Cadets, to 1.35, to 1.05, to 0.80. Yikes, LOOK OUT!!!!!!!

No real shockers. Unless you consider this is the second night in a row that Albert Lo issued ties in his caption.

I will be at West Chester on Wednesday, so I can't wait!! I loved the show in Indianapolis on June 18th, mostly because they just knocked us out of our seats with their wall of sound. The show overall, however, lost steam for me thereafter. And then came the Bluecoats. :)

I hope so, because I have been underwhelmed the past few live viewings. I thought last night's performance (minus the french horn soloist, who knew it) was probably their most inspired show of the year (at least for me) so far. I have always loved the Cadets, just not so much this year yet, so I hope they can do something with this show to make it better.

So, only 96 then tonight?

Brasso, is this your attempt to speak out on illegal immigration?

It's DCI's choice. Corps 8-12 (+Troopers) must all participate in one TOC show this year. It's not some conspiracy.

I would be willing to take that chance to be outdoors again. And Lucas can open/close the roof in under 9 minutes. So the argument that people were killed at an outdoor fair by a freak of nature wind gust that was associated with a non-tornadic storm system doesn't hold water in an argument. Yes, it was a tragedy. But DCI and LOS officials have the capability to make decisions hours in advance of any impending weather. Let alone 9 minutes. But we've all been through these arguments before, so I'll stop right there. You are absolutely spot on with the acoustics at Lucas though. Unless you're sitting in the right areas, your night could be ruined by the atrocious sectionalized layout of Lucas. This is reason enough for me to say it should at least be rotated to other cities on a bi-annual or even every 3 years or something basis. (And I am from Indianapolis!)

HILARIOUS!

In my opinion, for a corps that is surging (Crown), going on before Cavaliers (who may get leaped by BK), it kind of stinks. I agree there have been wilder draws in the past. But still, this is a two show event. They shouldn't apply the same draw. Just my opinion though -- and no, I'm not in love with Crown this year.

I'm thinking with BD being so alone at their show (sorry, SCV), their score will likely win the event regardless. I also believe the Cadets will struggle to maintain 2nd heading into Indy. We'll see.

Yes, over TWO days. Makes sense! :) /sarcasm

"OMG", I get that. Thanks. However, look at the Allentown lineups. Then tell me which block they ended up in. I'm saying they should have drawn the 1-3, 4-6 (etc.) blocks based on who was actually AT THOSE SHOWS. i.e. Cadets, Bluecoats, Crown would be 1-3. The draw system works better when you have a full Regional, yes. But not split sites.

I scaled back this year. I planned on about 5 more shows, but decided to watch the webcasts... Already Attended / Will be Attending: 6/18 - Indianapolis, IN 6/22 - Lexington, KY 6/23 - Cinema Show, Plainfield, IN 6/24 - Fairfield, OH 7/8 - Fort Wayne, IN 7/16 - Tulsa, OK 7/17 - Denton, TX 7/19 - San Antonio, TX 7/30 - West Chester, PA 8/1 - Allentown, PA 8/2 - Allentown, PA 8/3 - Buffalo, NY 8/7 - Indianapolis, IN - DCI Prelims 8/9 - Indianapolis, IN - DCI Finals Webcasts: 6/21 - Stanford, CA 7/12 - Denver, CO 7/12 - La Crosse, WI 7/14 - Warrensburg, MO 7/25 - Nashville, TN 7/26 - Atlanta, GA 8/8 - Indianapolis, IN - DCI Semifinals

Simple, they drew 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 etc. based on Atlanta. THEN they used the already predetermined attending corps on each night and applied it to that (dumb). IMHO, they should have drawn groups of 3 from the actual lineups themselves, since everyone is split up! Why does it make sense for Crown to be in the "block of 4-6" at their show, yet Cavies are in the 1-3 block? Ugh.

Is this was indeed groups of 3, they should have split up the lineups, then drawn groups of 3. In this scenario, Cavaliers are after Crown, yet they should have been in the 4-6 draw, while Crown should have been in the 1-3 draw for their respective day. The random groups of 3 would only make sense if the corps were at the same show!

Firetrucks.

I am not a fan of Crown's overall product this year. It's not even one of my Top 5 favorite Crown shows. I can probably name 7 shows I'd prefer to watch over this. But I defend what their hornline is doing, whether or not people think it is redundant. Because frankly, it is incredible and STANDARD setting. There is nothing in the history of brasslines in the activity that matches what Crown has done the past few years. While people will argue and defend what Blue Devils are doing as standard setting in terms of visual design (which it very well could be argued it is), I just can't agree that it equals what Crown is accomplishing with their horns. Groups can evolve and adapt visual concepts and throw it into their future productions and teach that. But what Crown is doing takes a very VERY special type of staff and experienced musician to do. Until those tambourines that BD's guard is using can be lit on fire, thrown 40 yards to land on the snare heads, all while monkey drumming (followed by the guard giving victory lap dances...), I just can't give as much credit to what I SEE from other corps vs. what I HEAR from Crown. It's just that good. And to me, as a brass guy, it's what defines this activity. And that is spoken realizing the champion won't be winning drums or bugles this year, which quite frankly I find to be a travesty. But alas, that's just my opinion.

Flame me for this... "Oh look, chairs. Again." "Oh look, clothes racks. Again." "Oh look, a concert jazz piece for our standstill section. Again." "Oh look, an opportunity for a terrible trumpet soloist, plus an out-of-place but so wants to be cool hangover. Again." "Oh look, scatter drill. Slow half-time marching. A broken line across the field. Again. And Again. And Again." We can all argue about stuff that is redundant. But when it comes to choosing what I would prefer to hear/watch (if it's even redundant to begin with) it would ABSOLUTELY be a magnificent hornline that is doing something that nobody else can do, or has ever done for that matter, in this activity. Sorry.

It seems DCI forgot how to input the 11 judge panels into their recap systems this evening.

By the way, the Fan Network broadcast was top notch tonight. Perfect stream, no issues for me. Great job DCI (and Tom Blair)!

Also... I just found out the multi-cam director is Tom Blair tonight. He must have brought his B-team this evening. I'll give him a pass, it's his first read. I'm sure by finals it will be a pro-grade product as always. :)

You've obviously never been around drum corps, at least for any length of time.

Seriously, fail on the Multi-Cam switcher for not getting the jump. But I just went back and watched it on the HIGH CAM and they got it there. Amazing!!!!!

I think being semi-competitive again though would help recruitment IMO. Look at what Oregon Crusaders were able to build in Open Class. I understand they're offering a full World Class tour with little experience required, but hardly anyone is aspiring to be a part of that corps these days. The model in the 90's worked and then they were at least competitive in World Class (Div 1) for awhile before the talent dropped off.