BACJAW

I'm probably going to stir up some controversy here, but I'm more of a fan of the more modern style of show than I am of the early days of DCI (and before even). I enjoy the theatrics, I enjoy themes (most of the time) that tie show elements together. Those things weren't as common in the 70's and before. That said, I do miss the sheer volume of the old G bugles and some of those old-time hornlines. Anyway, that's just my attempt to explain a bit about my reasoning for choosing these shows: My first choice, because of my dedication to the Boston Crusaders, is a show I had the privilege of being a drum major for, and that's Boston 2000. Certainly 1999 was meaningful as our first year in finals, but there was something about the 2000 season when everything just fell in place for an unforgettable season, and leading off the live broadcast of the top 5 when the crowd was pumped...unreal. That's one I'd love to relive forever. A show I just love because I loved the music even before they performed it was Phantom's 1996 Shostakovich show. I'm sure a lot of people would pick other shows above that one, but again, there's just something about that music that spoke to me. Thanks for allowing me my two cents...

No, a verb. Notice the "ed" ad the end. The drill was "Swiss cheesed" in the same way a horn is played I guess maybe that's actually a past participle or something like that, but I'm not an English major. ;-)

No, a verb. Notice the "ed" ad the end. The drill was "Swiss cheesed" in the same way a horn is played I guess maybe that's actually a past participle or something like that, but I'm not an English major. ;-)

There's been some talk about sickness days vs. rehearsal days. Speaking from experience with Boston '01, the rehearsal days when the corps was sick weren't particularly productive. We were lucky enough just to maintain for those few days. That said, we had around 75% of the corps and staff sick over the course of 3-4 days (we backed out of the first two or three shows, as well), so our drill may have been more "Swiss cheesed" than some of these corps. Or maybe not. Yes, I just turned "Swiss cheese" into a verb.

Sort of. They've experimented the last few years with how large the seeding groups are (I know it's been at least 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, etc. and 1-6, 7-12, etc.), but usually it follows a format like this: Any corps that finished in the top 6 are randomly drawn for the final performing slots. This could conceivably lead to last year's 6th place finisher going on after last year's winner. Any corps finishing 7-12 are randomly drawn for performance slots prior to the above group. etc.... To add another wrinkle, corps can choose to go on last at their home shows...but I think this is limited to one show a year. So, for instance, if Crown hosts two shows, they can choose to go on last at one or the other, but not both. That's how it was back when I was teaching in the early 2000's. Might be different now.

I have to respectfully, but STRONGLY disagree. It's a challenging book, definitely the toughest on the field that night, but one of the hardest ever? Sometimes we also have to keep in mind, and I had to constantly remind myself of this when I was marching and teaching, early in the season, you tend to get more credit for demand even though you may not be as clean as other corps with easier shows. The later you get in the season, the less this is the case. Later in the season, you can have the toughest book on the field, but if you can't achieve it, you don't get the credit that those other corps may get. That's not to say this is the reason they're scoring lower than the other corps tonight, but merely an explanation of why having the hardest book isn't necessarily a good thing...yet. If they achieve it, and I have no reason to think they won't come Indy, THEN they'll really reap the benefits of the demand. Best of luck to all!

After all that, Cavies did get their 93. Congrats to all! Oh wait...something's wrong here... ;-)

I'm sure anyone who's marched can recall a similar story, but when I marched Boston '00, we changed the last minute of our show over three rehearsal days with maybe 2-3 weeks left in the season. While our effect numbers went up because the new ending was much better, the performance numbers dropped significantly because the new material was still sloppy. Not to mention, the rest of the show was a little off because we hadn't worked on it for awhile. I think our total score actually dropped a bit (1-1.5 points) the first time we performed it. That's a drastic change, but it can happen with more subtle changes too, on a smaller scale. But we all know how it turned out for us that year, so it's nothing to worry about in the long run. That's all I'm saying...

That was intended to be supportive. Just referring to the post saying they should break 93 because of all the stuff they added. All I'm saying is sometimes it takes a few days for that stuff to be reflected in the score. In other words, if they don't break 93 as that poster suggested, it's shouldn't be taken as a negative.

Keep in mind, just because you make changes and additions, doesn't mean your score will go up immediately. Sometimes new stuff is dirty the first few shows so it doesn't show up in the scores right away.

When I first started marching with Boston in '96, I believe the DMs sat wherever they wanted, even if they were on the same bus. By the time I was DM in '00 and '01, we tried to separate ourselves through our three member buses. Typically we had a percussion bus and two hornline buses, with guard spread among the 3 (occasionally the guard would ride to the show all on the same bus if there was a need for that). When we had two DMs in '00, we were on one horn bus and the percussion bus. In '01 we added an inline DM who marched and played mellophone but helped with all the other leadership needs of the corps. He and one DM rode on the horn buses and I rode on the percussion bus because I conducted the main percussion feature. Someone mentioned the drummers hacking, and they do, but that only helps when you're DM. It's great to know the percussion book backward and forward, especially when you're not naturally a drummer.

Obviously you can tell by my screen name I'm biased, but anyone else thing BAC got screwed having to go before intermission? I think anyone who has ever been a part of a judged activity like this would agree that when you're in a tight race, you never want to be grouped with ensembles that are "slotted" lower than your competition. Looks like being seeded 9th coming into San Antonio may have cost Boston a few tenths. Any other thoughts? On another note...wasn't able to hear the commentary tonight. Who did Boston? I'm guessing Jay Kennedy was involved? Were there others?