MusicInMotion

Thank you to the top 7 corps for your artistry and your superior level of excellence. Another enjoyable championships is in the books. Your artistic ideas are typically "top box" and while I don't necessarily buy into each and every one of them, it's heartening to know that you won't be kicked out of the activity for expressing them. Too bad the same isn't true at a board level. It's widely known that to express your opinions in the board room in 2010 will get you cast out of the group. It's also known (although less widely) that in the event that you do endeavor to form an opinion that proposes enhancing the audience experience, that misinformation will be formed to shame you. Your ideas will be presented as if they are a proposal or some sort of demand. Eager bottom-dwellers will rush to condemn you and you will be cast out as a traitor. Thank you for entertaining me and my family. MIM

Does this mean that Dan Acheson has promised to get back in the game? It was clear he had checked out and was only riding out his contract for the past 11 months. His business plan for this year was a a lame bag of leftovers.

There was a poll on DCP "Top Ten Shows of all Time" that ran from late 2008 through 2009. The results of that poll were telling. There were many great shows represented throughout the past four decades. The top 25 nominated shows included 4 Jim Wren shows (89, 96, 91 & 93 in that order). I think this outnumbers any of the other arrangers. There were 3 JD Shaw years (08, 03 & 06 respectively). There was 1 Wayne Downey year ( '94 - ranked 25th out of 25). I know that those shows are the result of much more than just brass arranging, but I agree with the results of the poll. And I think Jim Wren is the master. Unlike others mentioned in this thread who write to the sheets, Jim Wrote to the audience. MIM

Placings Beyond 25th (and again, in the event of a tie, it seems like the older show should win): 26 Blue Devils 88 (13) 27 Cavaliers 95 (13) 28 Madison 97 (13) 29-T Blue Devils 00 (13) 29-T Cavaliers 00 (13) 31 Cavaliers 04 (13) 32 Spirit 80 (12) 33 Blue Devils 86 (12) 34 Vanguard 87 (12) 35 Madison 88 (12) 36 Madison 99 (12) 37 Crossmen 92 (11) 38 Blue Devils 03 (11) 39 Madison 75 (10) 40 Cadets 93 (10)

Favorite year for any given corps (in order of total vote count): Phantom 08 followed by 96 Vanguard 99 followed by 89 Cadets 00 followed by 05 Blue Devils 94 followed by 88 Cavaliers 06 followed by 02 Madison 95 followed by 97 Star 93 followed by 91 Crown 07 followed by 08 Crossmen 92 followed by 97 Bluecoats 06 followed by 07 Bridgemen 78 followed by 80 27th Lancers 81 followed by 80 Spirit 80 followed by 03 Boston 00 followed by 03 Suncoast 85 followed by 88 Sky 86 followed by 87 Kingsmen 74 followed by 72 VK 92 followed by 88 Muchachos 75 followed by 74 Blue Knights 06 followed by 07

I recognize this proves I'm a total drum corps nerd with too much time on my hands, but I did this so I could figure out which shows I needed to go back and look at again. There are some that I have no memory of.

Based on the replies since the inception of this thread, the top ten shows of all time... #1 Phantom 08 (40) #2 Star 93 (36) #3 Cadets 00 (36) #4 Phantom 96 (35) #5 Vanguard 99 (34) #6 Crown 07 (32) #7 Crown 08 (32) #8 Phantom 89 (31) #9 Star 91 (31) #10 Madison 95 (29) I figure that if two shows get the same number of votes, the older show wins. Honorable Mention: #11 Vanguard 89 (28) #12 Phantom 03 (27) #13 Vanguard 04 (23) #14 Cadets 05 (22) #15 Phantom 06 (22) #16 Cavaliers 06 (20) #17 Cadets 84 (20) #18 Cadets 87 (19) #19 Vanguard 88 (16) #20 Star 90 (16) #21 Cavaliers 02 (16) #22 Vanguard 00 (16) #23 Phantom 91 (15) #24 Phantom 93 (15) #25 Blue Devils 94 (14) Total Votes Cast: 1317

Top Ten Chronology: 73 Vanguard 74 Kingsmen 76 Blue Devils 77 Bridgemen 78 Regiment 84 Cadets 89 Regiment 95 Scouts 96 Regiment 00 Cadets 06 Cavaliers 08 Regiment

Memorable: 1973 Vanguard 1976 Blue Devils 1977 Bridgemen 1978 Phantom 1983 Cadets 1984 Cadets 1988 Vanguard 1989 Phantom 2006 Cavaliers 2008 Phantom