Tim K

I suppose that can either work for a corps against it, depending on how strong the previous corps are.

I have some thoughts based more on hunches than actual proof for Thursday night. If a hunch is wrong, it is only a hunch, but sometimes a hunch is right on the money. 1st--Bluecoats. My reason? I took lots of photos last year and judging by my shots of last year and Facebook this year, there are a lot of similar faces which means lots of vets, or the same people who I captured last year managed to get on Facebook this year. 2nd--Cavies. I expect a strong beginning for them. 3rd--Crown. I can only base this on a YouTube video, but I didn't get a strong Crown vibe from it. That's not to say I won't feel differently when I see it in the theater. The quality of the recording was so so and they were not in uniform, but I wasn't as impressed as others who saw the same video. 4th--Cadets. All I've seen are rather poor quality Facebook videos, where the posters do not want negative comments, and given some people who love basing the Cadets, that's understandable. What I'm seeing is a bit of a mess and there are parts I have to wait and see before commenting. Some of these things will have little to do with how judges view the show, but I'm not expecting a strong finish on Thursday. Crossmen and Blue Stars could be interesting. Both corps have had great preseason press and both have been on the lists of some who expect them not to make finals. I expect both to be competing in Indy on finals night. I'm going to predict Crossmen build in last yea's momentum and place 5th, but Blue Stars will only be about half a point behind.

Salem "witches" were sentenced to death by hanging, not burning. Besides, Pioneer did that last year with "Joan of Arc."

Regarding the "wicked" vibe, I wondered whether "wicked" is a bit of a play on words. Witches are accused of being wicked, but in the case of the Salem Witch Trials, what happened to them was wicked. Also, for those of us in the Boston area, wicked is an adjective mean really. Things in Boston are not really good, they're wicked good, or wicked exciting, or wicked cool. So I think wicked may refer to the theme but also anticipation of the season, hoping for wicked good scores or wicked high placements.

The vocalist is excellent, but for me, the problem was the vocals after the solo at the end. I love it when Crown ends a show and you're bathed in the beauty of its brass, so I'd be happy for just brass and percussion after the solo. That being said, the quality of the video I saw on YouTube was not great, so I reserve the right to change my mind if I'm wowed on Thursday night when I see it on the big screen and hear it in surround sound.

Considering that Christmas was not celebrated in Massachusetts until the 1830's because it was too Catholic of "papist" and Guy Fawkes Day where the Pope is burned in effigy was a favorite holiday in both Plymouth Bay (Pilgrims) and Massachusetts (Puritans), no self respecting Pilgrim or Puritan repented by going to "Mass." Sunday Mornung Meeting, maybe, but not Mass. As a matter of fact, the term "hocus pocus" used by both Anglicans and Puritans at the time was a put down against the Catholic Mass and associated it with witchcraft.

I figure if I'm traveling from the Boston area, most years by car though this year I am flying, I'm going to see the first corps perform on Thursday morning, usually Blue Saints or my favorite small corps Les Stentors (those kids just love performing) and see each corps until the finale on Saturday. I will have to admit last year was the most jam packed prelims I've ever attended, but I didn't miss a note.

Strains of "Conquest " have made it into many BAC shows, but given this year's theme, it would not fit. However, my guess is that at East Coast Classic in August, "Conquest" in all its glory will be played along with "I'm Shipping up to Boston."

I'll mention the yesteryear greats I still love: 27th and "Danny Boy," SCV and the Bottle Dance, Kilties and "Auld Lang Sine" and Guardsmen and "Greensleeves." I do enjoy sentimental endings, and a few favorites of recent years include SCV in 2012 and "Music of the Night." It was a powerful ending and anyone who remembers 1989 went back in time. Madison in 2013 and "You'll Never Walk Alone" and Crown's finales in 2011, 2012, and especially 2013 were unforgettable.

I'll have to say I've seen both good and not so good in Allentown. I witnessed the incident I mentioned and have seen difficult fans, but I've also see great things. A few years back I was in Yocco's and a group of kids who marched came in as well. A well known alum of a corps who will remain nameless noticed a kid open an empty wallet. He was going to leave when the alum said "Why don't we all throw in a few bucks and pick up the tab" so about twenty kids ate for free. I also find the Saturday crowd to be more friendly with a family atmosphere than Friday.

I agree that Boston Crusaders have received a great deal of attention this off season, but I have not seen too many that predict BAC to top Crown. Most have BAC around 7th, Crown about 5th. As a BAC fan who has been waiting for a title to come to the Bay State since 1980 when 27th almost won, a high placement will not disappoint me. I've heard that Crown has talent, and predictions of a poor season are off base, but it also seems like a lot of negative press seems to be released that points to internal strife. We know that can impact even the most talented corps with potentially great shows.

After an incident that happened in Allentown I believe two years ago where a "fan" who did not like a show made a snide comment about a performer that was pretty loud and crude (he was removed), within earshot of the young man's parents (I believe this incident made DCP), not all shows will be to everyone's liking, be passionate but objective, and when it comes to individual marchers, they are kids, twenty two tops. They may be mature, motivated, and talented, but they're still kids compared to most of us, and the person they call Mom, Dad, Grandma, or Grandpa may be sitting next to you. And even if the parents are not in earshot, don't ruin it for everyone else.

If I could add something, BAC also does a great job at connecting the alums of groups that marched in the drum corps, bands, and drill teams of the CYO and Eastern Mass to Boston Crusaders today. Mike Woodall who often MC's the encore is always pointing out some corps, some instructor or personality in loved in Massachusetts drum corps past and it matters a great deal to those mentioned and it's great to hear "blast from the past" names. Things like this mean a great deal. It also leads to at least some donations. When I look at the list of donors, there are more than a few who probably never imagined in their marching days that one day they would be donating to Boston Crusaders.

I love the more traditional BAC uniforms, and my guess is if you looked up my thoughts of the most recent now past uniforms when they debuted in 2014, I would have thought they needed more red. I also had a conniption when Cadets went black and thought Troopers may have gone to far last season but to my surprise liked the uniforms when I saw them up close and personal. Also styles change, nostalgia can set in, so five years from now, the rage may be to return to tradition. You never know....

I imagine they'll be in uniform tomorrow, but what about Saturday in Everett?

Whether grey works better than red depends. If the show is about the Salem Witch Trials, Puritans tended to wear grey and black and darker colors, dying became popular in the 1700's, so it would be historically accurate. When you once taught middle school social studies and had to organize and chaperone field trips to the House of the Seven Gables and Plimoth Plantation (we got expelled from Plimoth Plantation, they didn't like groups from the inner city back then), you learn a thing or two. That being said, I like the traditional colors, but these uniforms look interesting. The guard uniforms for the women remind me a bit of "Titans." For me, great music, a well designed show, and an amazing guard with as little "hocus pocus" as possible are what I hope for, if the show has this, the uniforms, good or bad, will fade in the background.

Given that Boston Crusaders loves tradition, last year's uniforms may be used for parades, the encore at East Coast Classic, etc.

i would prefer a more traditional uniform, but there have been many uniforms over the years that have not exactly been my favorites, but when the music starts and the show begins, I forget about the uniform if I'm sold on the show. I'll make my decision on Saturday night when I see them live. Hey, I even purchased the foam plate donation this evening when I was at BJ's.

Not sure what grade level or subject you'll be teaching, but congratulations! If you're classes are always as thorough as your posts, you'll be well prepared, if you stick to your guns the way you do on DCP, you'll have good discipline, and if you're as positive with your young charges as you are on DCP, you'll do fine.

I believe that the opera broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera (Met Live in HD) were just broadcast on Saturday afternoons for a while. I remember about a year or so after the broadcasts began signing a petition saying I would prefer to attend on another night and completed an electronic survey. It was put out by the Met. So my guess is that if DCI did something similar and found an audience, shows could be broadcast with an encore on another night.

I first saw Pioneer in 1979 at CYO Nationals, no doubt they were announced as "The Pioneers" as happened back in the day. While I've seen Pioneer many times over the years, and enjoy the corps, and like to think I know a bit about drum corps especially history, I guess like MikeZ, I don't know what Pioneer "is all about" unless you mean a corps that has a membership that enjoys their experience, a reasonably good fan base, and a soft spot for Irish music.

Haven't been to a colorguard show in a while, but the longest colorguard show moves much faster than the shortest cheerleading competition. That's what Crown should have depicted in 2015's "Inferno" because there have been many times I've had no choice but to attend a cheerleading contest and "Abandon hope, all he who enter here" is exactly how I feel. Cheerleading contests can make me question God, the goodness of humanity , and life in general.

The stadium where Ariana Grande performed her Manchester concert in May holds approximately 21,000 people. It also had lots of young people. At finals, at a minimum there will be 1,800 young people associated with the corps, not to mention those in the stands. The yellow school buses are there for high school students. Terrorists don't care about numbers, they are concerned with impact. So DCI and LOS should be concerned.

Security at LOS has come up before, and the overall consensus was security was higher st finals than prelims and semi's which is probably due to numbers. I arrive almost as soon as the doors open on Thursday and a Friday and my camera bag is opened, glanced toward, and I can move on. Saturday things are ramped up and the inspection is more thorough. That's the most screening I recall. Regarding souvenir trucks: they don't enter the building and souvenirs are sold at booths, but my guess is the containers are not inspected, nor are the props and equipment of the corps. i would not be surprised to see a clear bag policy in place this summer. I believe Atlanta did that last year.

For the folks who adamantly argue drum corps is not marching band and the marching band folks who argue just as vehemently that it is, WGI may feel your pain. Hampton Inn has a new commercial where a bored dad is sitting at what is clearly a colorguard competition and the announcer calls it a "flag dancing" competition. BTW, I looked up flag dancing prior to this post. It's an ethic dance with flags (a combination of banners and flamenco dancing) so while you could possibly see "flag dancing" in WGI, what the commercial portrayed was not flag dancing. So to the outside world drum corps may be marching band, but WGI colorguards are flag dance troupes.