chimchim

Another vote for 1984 Garfield. It was such an exuberant, virtuosic production. Listening to it on CD, one is struck by how they almost flauntingly featured each section of the corps at breakneck speed (such as the different sized "bands" in "America"). '84 Garfield captured the essence of an activity that was starting to artistically explode with assymetry, movement demands, and general showmanship. The best solo in drum corps history (you all know which one...) puts it over the top. Was that really 26 years ago? Yikes!

What's happened to their visuals? After 2006, I thought they were never going to be caught in visual design.

'86 Garfield

One of the all-time underrated charts is '82 Garfield's "Cuban Overture." I still consider that the definitive drum corps rendition. The soloists are AMAZING. 1982 was just a great year for drum corps. From #1 (Blue Devils) down to at least #10 (Sky Ryders - try "Faces" and "Macarena"), it was incredibly listenable. #13 Suncoast was great, too. Another underrated chart is the Crossmen's standstill that year -- "Canto del Viento," I think?

Quick question about the BD show: the drill move near the beginning of the show where the boxes rotate and keep swallowing more members looked pretty amazing to me -- one of those signature moves that lives on for years. But I had pretty low seats when I saw this. Is this not as spectacular to other people, or when viewed higher up in the stadium?

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Santa Clara '99 opener: from the incredibly clean power chord at around 0:37, the difficulty of the brass "scattered pod" section, the serpentine form unwinding, the final wedge. Mysterious, powerful, maybe the best use of backfield sound ever, perfect featuring across the field -- and an electric crowd. The last minute of Madison '88 (wow, the soul and passion of that perfect melli solo, then the spinning corps move, and the decelerando). The extraordinary visual beauty of the last minute of Cadets 2000. '87 Cadets exploding company front, to the end. '88 SCV last minute -- INCREDIBLY loud reentrance of brass with the corps towards the back of the field, and then that angled company front with the extra musical count... For visuals, '06 Cavies accelerating pinwheel thingie... '86 Blue Devils last min. / 1.5 min. -- man, the sopranos nailed that! Cadets '84: Barbara's solo, then the start of the closer. Best solo in DCI history, and best sudden contrast -- from tears-in-your-eyes beauty, to sudden pulsating excitement.

I'm in the camp of "it's pretty much over." BD sweeping the captions makes this very different than last year, when Phantom was taking high drums night after night, had a brass line that was clearly #1 or #2, and had a hyper-emotional show that was getting extraordinary audience response. It's hard to come up with a likely scenario that sees BD losing their lead this year.

From what I remember, the predominant feeling on this board was that Phantom just needed to clean their footwork to an acceptable level so that they could "peak late" -- and that is what happened. I don't know how Cadets and Crown will hold up late in the year... sorry if I came across in the wrong way. (Unless you're just trying to flame BD.) Two year ago, as good as the Bluecoats were in the early and middle season., I think it was accurate to say that their show wouldn't let them peak late. It's not an exact science, but I think it is a valid point of comparison.

Hey, Ed, what's the best Hutchinson show you have seen? The best one in my memory was '86, when Suncoast Sound did "Adventures in Time" (I remember listening to Suncoast practice on the Hutch High field the night before the show, dusk creeping into night for the last run-through...), Santa Clara did their definitive "Russian show" (with pants-changing!), and the Sky Ryders did their all-time high-scoring show - their best version of "Wizard of Oz." Wow, those were the days.

Yeah, I'm coming into this almost "tabula rasa," and all I can say is based on what I saw tonight. Troopers were nice, and looked a #16 or so ranked show at the end of the summer. I enjoyed them, though the West Side story motif didn't do much for me... man, that's been done to death in drum corps. The Colts looked like top-12, and possibly even higher if they can clean their drill. (I say that not knowing what the other corps in the 10-14 range are doing this year... just a guesstimate based on previous years.) The Colts' marching program is quite a bit more difficult, so I see them widening the gap with Troop. What has happened behind the scenes to make the Blue Devils' drill world-class, both in design and execution? I remember seeing their shows in previous years, such as 2000 and 2004, and thinking that they were just a better drill writer away from a world championship. The Cavaliers seemed to have insurmountably better drill not long ago, and BD clearly has at least parity right now. It was a bit weird to follow the dynamic last year of BD being musically outplayed by Phantom, but nearly pulling it out because of better drill and marching; quite the opposite of some recent years. BD has "peaking late in the summer" written all over their show this year. It's going to be fascinating to see the results when Crown, the Cadets, and BD go head-to-head late in the season.

Just got back from the Hutch show. I read this forum occasionally, but I'm not absolutely up-to-date on the opinions of where the corps stand (or should stand). Some impressions: The Colts are looking really good -- they look like a Finalist to me. I was surprised that the Troopers were as close as they were -- I would have thought a 3-4 point spread. The people around me agreed that there was a noticeable jump from the Troop to the Colts. There would have been a shocked-intake-of-air from the crowd if Troop had finished in front of the Colts. Blue Knights were entertaining. Good, complex drill, as always. Bluecoats -- wow. This might have been the most accessible show of the evening, and that is some hornline. They have a very mellow sound -- very well balanced from low to high. The drumline was not up there with the top two, but they were great, too. I like this show better than the previous two years -- just better, more coherent music; less of a fuzzy underlying narrative. It reminded me of classic Blue from the early '90s, but more sophisticated. I will look at the scoresheet later, but I wouldn't be surprised if the hornline was within a point of BD. The program listed John Lennon's "Imagine" as the opener. WTH? ;-) It was the same opener as the '96 Blue Devils. The Mingus Haitian Fight song is GREAT drum corps. Cavaliers -- very nice. Not the mind-blowing drill of years past (like 2006), but very visually interesting. The percussion was on fire tonight -- not sure who got the high score, but the Cavies have a very, very difficult book. Incredible pit. The rock-climbing gear was... interesting, for this all-male corps. (Had to suppress a smile when the guard started climbing on one another's back in the pre-show -- I was thinking of the "Ambiguously Gay Duo" from SNL. Sorry if this is politically incorrect...) The part where the guy climbs the brassline was great. Cavies are a step up from last year, IMO, but not quite back to championship form. Blue Devils -- wow, there's a lot happening. The opening drill move with the expanding, rotating, swallowing boxes is one of the best I have ever seen; I LOVE the way it "silently erupts" without musical announcement. BD was clearly in a different league of sophisitication. I don't normally like props, but the chairs really work -- great visual contrast. Like last year, I'd have to see the show multiple times to begin to catch everything. I loved the music and the theme... but I also long for the days when corps would play a song, an entire song, and just play the hell out of it. (Actually, Bluecoats pretty much did that tonight.) There are bits and snatches of "Happy Days are Here Again" (sigh... not even close to '88) and Concerto in F, to name two -- but they are like appetizers that don't wholly satisfy. Well, such is modern drum corps. The soloists didn't stand out this year compared to previous BD years. This was a phenomenal show for Hutchinson, KS. I'd say five DCI Finalists, and three top-5/top-6 who were in that "wow, that was incredible; I don't see how the judges choose" category. I don't see the Cavaliers catching BD... BD has a lot of cleaning to do in a very, very complex show, and they're already out in front. Last year, Hutch had Phantom and BD dueling it out, and that Phantom show is still the best drum corps show I have ever seen. I was crying for the last 2-3 minutes of that show... it moved me that much. This year's Hutch show was just good stuff, with a very top-heavy lineup considering that it is a little Kansas town. By the way, drum corps is at its best in small stadiums! I think Hutch's stadium seats 3,000. Deafeningly loud, and with a great delayed echo from buildings a couple of blocks away. Lots of Sky Ryder fans in the audience; we haven't forgotten.

Someone please give full details on the "new" ending.

I saw Phantom in mid-July, and it was the best drum corps show I have ever seen. I was in continual tears for the last two minutes of the show -- not from the drama, but from the sound. I think this will go down as one of the great shows in drum corps history, and I will remember it for the rest of my life.

I signed up just to post in this thread. I've lived in Hutchinson most of my life, and was a huge, huge Sky Ryders fan back in the day. I personally would list '82 as the best Sky Ryders show (Faces & Macarena), followed by the 9th-place 1986 Wizard of Oz show (beating Phantom!). If you have the DCI DVD's, you can catch their '81 show, even though they finished in 14th place and out of Finals. Great brass sections in '81 and '82 (the lead brass instructor that Star of Indiana would later hire; John Simpson, I think), and a great individual soprano soloist, who was the son of the brass instructor at Hutchinson Community College. Last night's show was quite good. All 5 corps were enjoyable -- no fillers. The Mandarins were the best I have heard them; they really have some talented players. Most in the crowd were surprised that the Troopers edged the Mandarins out. Pioneer had good sound at times, but the marching and color guard were sloppy. They seemed about a month of polish behind Mandarins and Troopers, although close to as talented. The main thing I wanted to say is that I was completely, totally blown away by Phantom. The pre-show theatrics took me back to some of Santa Clara's great shows (that I heard on the same field) in the mid-'80s. Chills up and down my spine for the entire show, starting with the brass fanfare in the first few seconds. I had tears streaming down my face continuously for the last 2 min. That is quite possibly the most exciting drum corps show I have ever seen in person. As far as Phantom's great shows, I think this year will bear comparison to '89, '96, and '06; in fact, it beats them. One thing in particular is that they have a really extraordinary mellophone soloist. If he plays as well in Finals as he did last night, that will go down as one of the great soloist efforts -- up there with the mellophone solos from '84 Garfield and '91 Phantom. Absolutely professional quality; extraordinary control and warmth in all registers. Blue Devils were... meh. And they are my all-time favorite corps. That is their most boring show in years (maybe since '91?). The music is very forgettable. Danny Elfman? Really? I love The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, but even that came across as emotionally muted. The soloists were also off. The drum feature was great. I've turned to DCP occasionally this summer to follow some of the controversies about miking and sound reinforcement. If Phantom wins this year, with their gloriously retro, hyper-emotional show, it will be one of the best things that has happened to drum corps in a while. I guess the best comparison is that it has the energy and wonder of the '85-87 Santa Clara Russian shows, but with modern drill and precision, and with an extraordinary mello soloist as the cherry on top. How are they only scoring 87???? Can they possibly improve 10 points in the next 3.5 weeks?