Calistar

1 Blue Devils B 79.300 2 Vanguard Cadets 77.700 3 Impulse 71.950 4 Velvet Knights 68.150 5 Spokane Thunder 64.050 6 Blue Devils C 55.300 7 City Sound 52.800 Great show tonight. VK was fun. Vanguard was smooth as always. But BDB performed with a PURPOSE. They left little doubt who the top dog was on this night. In my opinion, the spread between first and second should have been closer to 2 pts. BDB swept every catagory (except for Mus Percussion, but still won the overall percussion catagory). Good Luck to all the corps in Concord tomorrow night. Cali.

Man, what a great decade of shows. Just looking at that list brings back such awesome memories. Especially that span of 'The Zone' - 'Machine' - 'Winged Victory' - 'Sparticus'... Emotionally, Sparticus was probably #1...I still get chills whenever I watch that show. With the first 5.5 minutes of Winged Victory as an example of pure drum corps intensity. Cali.

huh? no, what I am saying is that a couple of Open Class corps will probably end up around 20th or so... not sure what you mean. Cali.

I could not agree more. I think the University of the Pacific in Stockton would be a phenominal place to hold the Open Class Championships. Great venue, perfect sightlines, excellent acoustics. However, the heat would be killer in August. Well, this is where we part ways. In my opinion, we are looking at the top (2) corps possibly finishing somewhere around the 19th/20th/21st place. They will be competitive with Mandarin, Teal, and Surf. And this is coming from a huge BDB fan. I hope I am wrong, but I just don't see it happening. Cali.

Thanks Hostrauser. Cali.

Um, okayyy... legit question for you: Is it ok not to like every show that you like? A little condescending there, hoss... Well, okay, as long as you aren't trying to change anyone's mind Alright Big Dog...I actually like the enthusiasm eventhough the message kinda got muddled. I'm hyping the Blue Knights show. I got to see it twice this past weekend and it was my favorite show. NOT the show I think will finish top 3, but the show I enjoyed the most. It's very well designed and thought-out. And you can tell that the kids really enjoy performing it. Check it out if you get the chance. Cali.

Well, correct if I am wrong (and I may be), but I think only 2 of the past 4 champions were actually the largest Corps in Open Class: '07 Spartans were not the largest, '08 SCVC were also not the largest. Well, Possibly...but if you took the top 60 musicians from bdb AND their staff, I'm sure they would be very competitive and possibly have a shot at the championship. And if you agree with that, then WHY do you think they would be so competitive against the larger corps? If you know the answer to that question, then you know why size does not determine the eventual champion. Cali.

You probably hit that construction mess on I5...yeah, I did too...it was a MESS. You know its difficult to gauge. The Stadium holds 28,000...and even if it was only a tenth full, that would be almost 3,000. The crowd sure did seem small, so you may be right. Stagg Stadium is actually an excellent place to watch drum corps (as you said). Very intimate and the steep seating and excellent acoustics help to present each corps in a favorable light. Even the weather cooperated this year and was very comfortable about an hour into the show. Apparently everything agreed with the Cadets, because they put on a blistering performance. I WISH that was the show captured on the Fan Network, but I'm sure there will other great shows captured on video. Oh, and before I end this post...I just want to give a shout out to the BLUE KNIGHTS who I thought were great! They have one of the most fan friendly, likeable shows out there and may suprise some people with their final placement. If there are some of you who have not checked out their show yet, do yourself a favor and experience the 2011 version of BK. It was nice meeting you Tricia! Cali.

The Blue Knights Drumline/Pit feature during (I think) 'English Folk Song Suite'. (loved it) Cali.

Perhaps you can give an example of a Small Corps that you feel is better than BDB or SCVC? I don't think you are talking about Revo, because I saw them twice this weekend and they are nowhere near the quality of the two corps. Size or no size. Don't get me wrong, because I love the effort and dedication that Revo demonstrates year in and year out, but they just don't measure up and it has nothing to do with size. So who do you think is being shortchanged this season? Who is being underscored? Cali.

You Cadet fans should be excited, they put on an incredible show last night. The first half was some of the best drum corps I've seen in awhile. They came out on fire and left the stadium buzzing. Cali.

Cadets on FIRE tonight! WOW!!!!!! Cali.

Probably not your first choice. No offense to any Stocktonians...but the unemployment and urban blight (and gang problems) has hit that town hard. Plus like someone else said, it gets HOT there, like 'I don't want to be here' hot. and to tie this to Drum Corps...thats exactly where I am headed in an hour to see the show! I am very grateful that the weather will be tolerable this afternoon - upper 80's to low 90's. The last few years have been brutal. Cali.

Crazy long intermission. Gonna save some Batt. Back for the Cadets show...fired up for that! Cali.

BDC=Adorable. Cali.

BDB - started slow, gained momentum throughout. Nice complex drill, steller drumline...loved the drumbreak. Corps needs to clean (you can tell it's June) but this show is pretty good. Guard is much improved from last year. I expect scvc to close the gap some, but still have BDB ahead by a little. Cali

SCVC - a polished show which is their trademark. A nice balanced sound. An easy-going feeling to this show. Excellent use of Guard. A definite contender all season. Cali.

Revolution seems noticeably smaller this year, but they make up for it with determination. Electronics seem too loud but that may be because I am sitting down low. My attention keeps getting drawn to a pretty good drumline. Thanks Revo for making the trip! Cali.

Btw just a quick 'behind the scenes note'...the drum major stands are being placed on little squares of wood (to protect the field) which makes the stands a little wobbly. Also...audience not as big as last three years. Maybe 85%. Cali.

Not sure how that translated over the FN, but I like this version of the Renegades. Enjoyable show and pretty loud for a corps this size. Especially the top brass. Good Job. Cali.

In the lot at Stanford, watching the BDB drums...crowd of 60-70 spectators. A very mild day weather wise. 75-ish degrees and breezy. Hope the wind dies down. Cali.

come on, that was too easy. Cali.

Yeah, talked to him this morning and texted several times. I get to see him (and all the corps) in a few hours! Most looking forward to seeing BDB, SCVC, PC, BK, SCV, and Cadets. Cali.

Hey, that was a very fine review. Thanks. Cali.

Message sent! Cali.