contraBand

I thought 2008 Bluecoats with The Boxer was neat, and Boston's pre-show this last year as well.

They have a very interesting show theme, and I understand that they have a particularly talented brass line this year. And Tim Jackson certainly seems to know his stuff so I have high hopes there as well

Just trying to answer the questions/accusations/assumptions leveled at me And seriously, don't tell me I'm the only fan of the "Drum Corps Memes" page on Facebook...?

For the record, the focus of my picture is intended to be the face, not the uniform; the joke is that "Impossibru!" face + Bluecoats uniform = ImpossiBrucoats! Or something to that effect. Full picture: Original meme, for reference: http://knowyourmeme....emes/impossibru Furthermore, I am by no means trying to be a troll. I am merely sharing my opinions in answer to the OP's questions, and what I perceive (though that perception does not seem to be shared) to be logical reasons for my opinions. And my experiences have been only with the recent (2008 and later) drum corps community, and it is only these recent years to which I refer. Also for the record, I am not a recent age-out but a current marching member of a particular west coast corps that will not be mentioned by name here so as to not let it be dragged into this mess as well. And now, back to the haters

Such is DCP, where nobody is allowed to share their opinions without incredible amounts of hate... I made my "blanket statement" based on my experiences with all of the Blue Devils corps, I observed them and I came to my own conlclusion that they have rather less 'class' than other corps out there. Sure, I openly express my distaste for the Blue Devils, but it certainly isn't without reason.

Toe me, it seems that a lot of people don't like them just because they are good. Personally, I don't like them because I do not find their style of music the least bit appealing, and because the entire Blue Devils organization does not strike me as having an ounce of class... I respect their accomplishments and their record, but I do not respect the way they go about things, regardless of the result.

Most excited for 2012 Bluecoats. Wish I could say more...

Possibly the least-visited stadium in DCI performance history. Well, probably not, but I think there were maybe a hundred people at the 2011 show... Joe Albi Stadium, Spokane, WA: Nothing quite like trekking through the dirt and sagebrush of eastern Washington in uniform and struggling to find a few square feet of space clear of rocks to set down your instruments... Definitely my favorite performance location. Ever.

I never said it was easy or boring or poorly done, or anything of the sort; I merely think their brass line should have been featured a little more and their keyboardist a little less...

Quite.

Most Disappointing Brass Book- Carolina Crown. By which I mean they featured their keyboardist too much, and their top brass line too little. Most Emotional- Madison. Even without the 9/11 backdrop, I feel like "Empire State of Mind" would have garnered quite a reaction Most Mismatched Show- Bluecoats. "Creep" was amazing, but really didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the show IMO... Most awesome to see live- Blue Knights. Seriously. Though Phantom takes a close second. Most robbed corps- Academy. Totally should have placed higher... Most boring- Blue Devils by far. I found it to be completely uninteresting. Most underrated show- Cavaliers.