weirdscience

Super-impressed with this year's show. While I like innovation, I definitely love my nostalgia...Madison '12 strikes the perfect balance for me.

Another summer, another highly annoying/distracting program from BD in spite of their ridiculously talented corps members. Oh, well. Some things never change.

I felt like I was in an NES video game during the entirety of BK's show. And, no, not in a good way.

This. As a brass guy, I am loving this program. That said, because most of BAC's stuff has been played in the past by championship-caliber corps (Cavies, Star, PR), their biggest challenge this year might be filling those shoes.

nm, just went live. Woohoo!

Is the link live for anyone yet? It's not for me...

bump, yo

Definitely the 'Coats. Imagine them doing 'Calgary' as a soft closer. Gives me chills thinking about what you could arrange for mellos, sops and drumline. I'm thinking you start the piece with mellos carrying the melody and the rest of the hornline playing with backs to audience...

Listen to his eponymous album that came out a few months ago and tell me that a mello section wouldn't have a field day with some of his stuff.

Thoughts?

Class has nothing to do with it if it's TRUE. Sure, the 'Devils' hornline always sounds great, until you look up and realize they're standing. Or sitting. Or looking at themselves in the mirror.

WOW, way to go Garfield! The theatrical nature of Angels/Demons reminds me of 'Spartacus,' but with a distinct Holy Name flair. Cadets should win by a point this year. This show is Hopkins' best idea since...well...2005?

Ilyena would make for a cool jam session/perc feature. Think about it: hornline playing with backs to the crowd for the first "muted" part, then a fast 180 with a monster brass hit. You could really go wild with electronic effects in the pit, too.

Yeah, I could see "Son" as a sick intro.

If a corps was going to do an all-The Mars Volta show, who would it be? My vote would be for the Cavies because of the Green Machine's ability to create visual kaleidoscopes. I think TMV's prog rock sound would translate insanely well to the field. Whad'ya think?

It sounds like a dance club's New Year's eve party.

Besides VK 92 (duh...;-)), it's gotta be Garfield 87. Makes me tear up every time. SCV 89 and PR 08 gets honorable mentions.

Since their comeback a few years ago, I have really dug La Crosse's brass books and overall show designs. This year is certainly no exception and the writing for the hornline may be my favorite this year. I'll be pulling for Blue Stars to clean up well and give the top 8 a run for its money.

"But George H., you're not the only corps director in DCI." "No, but I'm the best!" Amadeus FTW

It sounds great (see 09 SCV) but at the end of the day, it cheapens the experience. I wish those contra lines were capable of pumping out that kind of sound, but that's just not reality. Let the musical aspect of the show be the product of lungs, embouchures and incredibly dextrous hands, not 0s and 1s from a black box.

Also: per the recommendation of this thread, I just watched Blue Stars for the first time. They definitely make my awesome list this year. That brass book is...wow. And a classic ending for sure.

So far, for me, Bluecoats' treatment of Asphalt Cocktail takes the cake. The arrangement is highly recognizable (something that is not always easy to pull of with Mackey), the drill makes near perfect sense and the piece just FITS the corps stylistically like a glove. I love the staggered brass hits, the rock beat about halfway through, and (even though I'm more of more of a brass than guard guy) the 1.5 flag toss that seems to be a visualizer of the hornline's subito piano. I absolutely can't wait to see this live. Hopefully they really push the envelope down the stretch and introduce even more movement...IMO this vehicle has the potential to be the closer of the year.

Yes, although the music wasn't from "Chess." I don't know that another literal chess show would be fitting...just adapt the score from the musical and do a non-themed show.

I think Crown could pull of an exclusive "Chess" show. Some of the best tracks suit CC's inspirational style, including Quartet, Nobody's Side and Anthem. Additionally, Press Conference offers ample opportunity for blazing sop runs. The middle part of the Prologue, which is long tone-heavy, could serve as preshow warmup fodder for CC's ridic hornline. The more I envision this show, the more I become convinced it needs to happen.

I recently watched the musical "Chess in Concert" by Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. Throughout the entire show I couldn't help but think how great the music would translate to the field. Has anyone else seen this incredibly original musical?