hardlyworking

A few quick thoughts - I thought Cadets should have won tonight, BD was my personal favorite (Vanguard was 2nd), and I found Crown, as impressive as they are, to be surprisingly boring. The last time I was that bored was when I saw BD 2007 live. I almost fell asleep...but then again, I wound up loving that show later on, so maybe this one just needs a little more time to grow on me. Anyway, I was a little bummed that I wasn't able to get there until Vanguard, but it was still nice to see a few corps.

Go SOA! Way to win a show! Unless I'm mistaken, they haven't done that since 2009.

In order: 1. Blue Devils 2. Cadets 3. Spirit of Atlanta 4. Phantom Regiment I might have a few more to add after Atlanta.

That's gotta be one of the stupidest arguments I've ever heard. Drum corps, a musical activity, is suddenly no longer drum corps (again, a musical activity) because it's being filled with people who are passionate about music? Did I wake up in Bizarro DCP or something?

So, I just got back from the theater event. First of all, let me say that there were absolutely no problems with the theater I was at. The sound levels started loud and only got louder throughout. Great picture, no complaints at all. Now, on to the corps (in performance order): Spirit of Atlanta - By far the biggest reception of the night (though I suppose that's expected when you go to a theater in Atlanta). They deserved it. This show is a lot of fun. A good bit of visual dirt, but that's just how it is around this time of year. Can't wait to see how they improve on it over the summer. This show reminds me of old-school SOA more than any other show they've done in a long time. Cavaliers - Honestly? I thought this was the weakest show of the night. I had them in 6th. I love the Cavies, don't get me wrong, but it's gonna take a lot of cleaning and program tweaking to get me to like this show. It's just dirty. Also, the "Secret Society" whisper thing towards the end of the show made me visibly wince in my seat. If I were running the show over there, that part would have been cut back in December. I'll keep my hopes up for them, but I was not terribly impressed. Boston Crusaders - I dig the new uniforms, especially given their historical connection, but the show? About as interesting and lively as the grey that they're marching in. It's performed very well and has it's moments here and there, but I continually found myself wondering when it was going to be over. Again, I know early season drum corps isn't anywhere close to what we'll be watching on the 2013 DVDs, but currently that show leaves a lot to be desired. Cadets - Wow. Up until tonight, I thought it was only a two-way battle for 1st place...then the Cadets showed up. Definitely my favorite show of the night, and I honestly believe they have what it takes to win it all in August. Obviously time will tell, but man they deserve it if they manage to get it. I can't wait to watch this show more over the summer. They already sound like late July. Love the concept, too - didn't think the props on the field were distracting at all. Again, fantastic show, would like to see them win in August, but they definitely deserved to win tonight...they were on a whole different level from the other corps tonight. Phantom Regiment - I think, given the title, I was expecting this to be a lot more like Harmonic Journey from 2003. It's a great show, but I feel like it's lacking the emotional moments that Phantom typically knows how to do so well. I really wish they would use more of Mahler 2. This is another show that I'm very interested in seeing just how it will evolve....or how many people they'll kill. Bluecoats - I love the new uniforms and the show has a great concept...it just didn't grab me. I think I might have enjoyed it more had I not seen the Cadets already. Really good (they sound phenomenal), but not great. Also, Dean Westman's description of the color guard being people like "hipsters and people going to work" made me (jokingly) think that the entire show was about hipsters going to work. Perhaps that clouded my judgement a little. I will definitely be watching this show again over the summer just to get a better idea of what it's all about. My order of placement: 1. Cadets 2. Phantom Regiment 3. Bluecoats 4. Spirit of Atlanta 5. Boston Crusaders 6. Cavaliers

Is it not possible to love both? 'Cause I sure do.

A tease of SCV's uniform from Facebook. Says it'll be revealed "within the next 48 hours."

When I first saw Crown's uniform, I thought it was hideous, but I tried to keep an open mind, thinking "Hey, maybe it'll look better in a large group." Having seen those pictures now...yeah, it's still hideous. You may fire when ready.

Man, I was already excited for this show, but hearing all of these positive comments makes me wish I weren't so dang poor so I could listen to the show myself!

Spirit of Atlanta 2013

Good lord, go back to rehearsal and stop worrying about what some anonymous armchair judges think of your corps. You're just wasting your time here.

Once I find a good catchphrase, I stick with it.

Hmm...well, at least they'll sound better than they look.

Yup, I think that takes the cake for one of the ugliest uniforms I've seen. Sure, it's no Glassmen '93 or Spirit of Atlanta in the late 80's, but it's up there. At least Crown will sound better than they look.

You've gotta be kidding me. You keep calling all of this good music "high brow"...care to provide some examples? I responded to your original post with 16 examples of what you apparently thought doesn't exist in drum corps anymore. Not acknowledging it doesn't make you right. Seriously, give me some examples of the supposed pretentious crap being played in DCI right now. I'm waiting. While we're at it, how about some examples of the music you'd like to see? The stuff that is supposedly WAY more accessible than that "sophisticated noise" like the Firebird Suite or The Planets? You don't need to go study in a conservatory for 5 years to understand or enjoy classical music. You just have to have passion, an imagination, and a good sense of rhythm helps, too. It's the same as with any other genre! So, are you going to add some actual depth to your argument, or are you going to continue to be the drum corps equivalent of the old man standing on the sidewalk, screaming about the end of the world?

Blue Devils Carolina Crown Crossmen Colts Phantom Regiment SCV Spirit of Atlanta Cadets Cavaliers

Charles Mingus, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Giacomo Puccini, Eric Whitacre, John Mackey, Gustav Holst, Jennifer Higdon, Dmitri Shostakovich, Ottorino Respighi, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Edvard Grieg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Modest Mussorgsky, Igor Stravinsky...these are all composers who's music was played last year, and that's just from the Top 12. I see plenty of jazz, British, Russian, German, Italian, American, Norwegian...need I go on? You clearly aren't paying attention.

Yeah, I remember doing an elimination block where, as soon as you messed up, you had to go run to another block going on at the same time, but all the exercises were at about quarter note = 230. Thankfully, I was one of the last two standing. Those were always so much fun - you really had to be on top of your game.

Take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt, but I did hear a recording of some of their opener a while ago. I'm very familiar with the Rite of Spring, and while I haven't heard the jazzed up source they're using, I still thought it was pretty faithful to the original. I still have some reservations, though, but that's only because I haven't heard the full show yet. I love the Rite of Spring, and I love jazz, but sometimes mixing two great things doesn't always work out (fruitcake, for instance).

Oh, good. I was getting worried that this argument wasn't going to get beaten to death again.

Glad it's finally official. One of my friends is in the hornline this year and he played me a few clips from camp...just based on the few snippets I've heard, I am absolutely pumped for this show!

Cavaliers played Peter Graham's "Harrison's Dream" in 2010.

Oh, apologies. I guess my settings don't allow me to read joke font.

What, exactly, is so wrong with something being "atonal?" It's still music!

The only thing dumber than the Harlem Shake is DCI's incredibly poor attempt to capitalize on it.