Photographer Jim

I knew that $100 bill I slipped each judge would pay off! 🤗

Yup. Its gonna happen. You just know its gonna happen. 😅

😜

yes. Yes he did.

oh just throw the blue curacoa in and light it on fire!

And now for the visually best opening 30 seconds of this year's shows. Choreographed random movement, lines that shift and segment, a moment where the corps disappears in silhouette, a snow storm of capes that almost instantly disappear. Energy, energy, energy. For a visually oriented guy like me, pure eye candy! 🤩😍

Brass in white, percussion in black, guard in red really works

A bit of an over generalization, no?

i'm old enough to get that reference!

As a photographer, I'm going to go nuts if that cameraman doesn't get the horizon on the high cam level! 😡

The whole first 30 seconds is just pure eye candy! Such a joy to watch. As a visual artist rather than a musician the opening just grabs me and captures my full attention. I especially love the point where they all turn their backs to the stands for a second and their capes/tunics/jackets turn the entire corps into a solid black silhouette. A small but powerful visual moment.

So true. BD treats props as being part of their visual ensemble world. They are less than humans, but more than just objects.

Yes. They start wearing a cape like tunic, which they then remove and throw into the air. The nifty part is that once the corps comes out onto the field all of the tunics have disappeared completely!

I love the first 30 seconds of BD‘s program. I was really impressed with it when I saw it live Friday night in Sacramento. The whole center prop structure with everybody on it looks wonderful. When they start moving it’s like chaos that is perfectly choreographed! The white stripes on their shoulders of the tunic create straight lines and segments that seem to vibrate. Then when they turn around the backs of their uniforms are solid black and they become a silhouette for a second. It’s real visual eye candy.

This show has traditionally been much longer. Blue Knights almost always attended. Academy and/or Troopers as well. In addition, any Easr Coast or Midwest corps that had decided to come west that year. This is the first time that I can recall it being an all California show.

Having just seen Gold live in Sacramento Friday, I can say Flo’s sound. Setup doesn’t do justice to Gold’s brass sound. They have a lot of power and do a great job with dynamics. They are definitely going to contend for Open Class championship

Total agree with your comments of the sound quality vs flo. The balance live is so much better. All of the corps sounded better, which I would expect. BD had me grinning their whole show. The show just flows beautifully, and it’s simply eye candy. It never seems to bog down either visually or musically. Mandarins have matured so much as a corps; and they perform with a confidence that surpasses anything in their past. You can tell that they believe they can run with the big boys.

We’ll, correct except for gap between SCV and Mandarins

I see Gold winning Open Class tonight by a hair. BD takes World class (79+). SCV and Mandarins within a point of one another.

Absolutely agree. The corps has gained the type of confidence needed for consistency. Excellent show.

SCV is as musically sound as one can get. Closer works! The purple in the guard is two muted for my taste it disappears.

For those wondering, yes, one member of the guard is still not using equipment.

BD - OH HELL YES!

BD entering field. Center prop stage construction piece looks better in person than on the TV screen.