brichtimp

Tonight in Chester should be interesting with a different judging panel in a wonderful acoustical environment with perfect weather. Three wonderful drum corp shows at the top...couldn't be more diverse....loaded with talented kids....can't wait!

Yep....back in the stone age when I was in high school in the Anaheim school district, the street competitions were legendary; and the tick system was a given, although the music score was the highest portion of the judging in that compressed 450 foot competition zone. In essence, pick an approved march, perfect it like a concert performance and march to the standard of a top military band....deceptively difficult to perfect a block with limited rehearsal time. However, the musical concepts (blend, balance, precision, good intonation and tone) translated to concert season. The All Western Band Review in Long Beach was the ultimate end of season street competition with 70+ bands.....quite a scene back in the day before the DCI and drum corps world had any impact. One final example...this one from 1969 with Loara High School....we could hear them coming for city blocks:-) http://youtu.be/uP9O9x-PNUo

The latest episode of Inside BD 360 is really worth a view!

I see Cadets show as pure Americana.....unabashed patriotism with no apologies, and no connection to a political agenda, IMHO.

The situations that Lincoln, FDR and JFK faced transcended any political jive.

With a full panel tonight, can we expect to see Prosperie down on the field?

While on the topic of parades (maybe a little off topic), where I grew up in So Cal, the competition parade was a tradition (additional to the field shows)...here is an example of a nice performance of Alford's Purple Carnival: http://youtu.be/uNeXQjYobog not a straight-leg corps stride, but seeking a smooth flow with some decent precision.

I think Cadets marched the Bristol parade, but weather canceled the second scheduled parade.....so a day of laundry and rest otherwise.....good for the chops and the mental refresh. Generally, I think parades can be good PR for DCI where viewers who otherwise never see a DCI show can get an idea of the talent of the kids....that is, if the corp takes the performance seriously and doesn't stroll or stagger down the street because it's 'just a parade.'

Excellent brass line, although for my taste, I would like to hear a shade more bass horns in the balance on the tutti chords. The quality of the Cadets arrangements will be a treat at PPL.

This and the importance of that quote in the context of the Cold War space race in those years. The Soviets beat us to manned space travel, and this 'can-do' spirit was necessary to get us past some of the rocket launch failures and leapfrog the Russians later in that decade. Kennedy asserted that goal with confidence at a time when there was doubt about whether we could actually do it (get to the Moon).

Here is a little bit of demand in the Cadets' show from 'ground hog' level :-) http://youtu.be/MAb6g7ZEGhA

I think (based on what I have viewed) that both percussion sections have sufficient demand to compete for the Sanford. While I can't speak for Colin McNutt, I would speculate that he wrote as much depth and demand to serve the musical context as he did in 2013. The kids are instructed to play like orchestral percussionists from the waist up (reflected in their musical control at all dynamics), and to perform like olympic athletes from the waist down. Everything you have described above about the Coats book applies, I think, to the Cadets book as well...just in the context of a different show with some different responsibilities.

Here is a clip leading into Cadets' drum feature in the Kennedy section: http://youtu.be/VqMHcucAJpM

Based on last night, I don't see that the Coats have more demand in their drum book than Cadets. Talent levels look comparable, so I really think that pristine execution can still win the day; and neither line is pristine yet. I also noted a healthy chunk of time last night where the Coats line is silent....lots of factors in the mix.

I think if you can get up there in the row 20 region, the stage is a non-issue; but the full projection of ensemble sound should also be better than sitting lower.

Yes, and while their diagonal run in Kennedy, superimposed on the brass dying away is an awesome sequence, the stuff going on during the Roosevelt drill, in terms of technical difficulty on the move, is scary challenging!

I don't think Prosperie was hearing enough content from the box to precisely differentiate Coats and Cadets pit and battery execution. My son has lost about 20 pounds since May, so they are definitely motoring around a lot and working hard to gain consistency and stamina...easy to forget that this is mostly a new crew from the Sanford-winning line last year.

For sure, and we also watched the entire percussion sectional in the stadium...it was a master class by Jake in how to dissect and hone in on minute musical details while keeping the momentum and efficiency of the rehearsal alive.

We were in row 12 at Jackson, and the stage did not block the visuals for us.

Yes, and I would not be surprised that Prosperie, in the box, could not hear some of the Cadets' percussion content (pit and battery) due to narration at times.....but this comment is not meant to diminish the excellence of the Coats show design and levels of exposure.

It will be interesting once we see a full panel with Guard judge and Percussion judge on the field. I think the Cadets will need to bulk up their content, and execute immaculately to defend the Sanford trophy. I really like the Buecoats show....very creative and nice use of the ramps; but perhaps an overdose of brass via synthesizer at times.

Coats percussion content score pipped Cadets by .3; the achievement scores were only .1 apart; and we need to get Prosperie out of the press box and down on the field to get a truer gauge from him. Where we were sitting, there were noticeable segments where the Coats battery was all but covered up by synthesizer. That said, there is no question that these are both excellent drum lines.

Looking forward to tonight's Jackson showdown....Coats appear to be sensational, although dirty feet need scrubbing :-) Cadets seem to have the baseline established for a championship run, if they can judiciously add the visual and impact elements that can make a big difference in August.

I think opinions are informed by perspective. I am probably one of the 'older' fans, but I really enjoy the creative and musical excellence of today's DCI (and, not just because my son is having the summer of his life). Back in the late '60s to mid '70s when I was in college, all music majors (except double reeds) were required to play in the marching band. Marching was simpler but quality of sound was impressive, and at that time, we had almost no one who was looking toward playing with the Kingsmen or Velvet Knights, et al. As a percussionist, I dug what the lines were doing, but our brass players were looking at the Chicago Symphony brass as their 'north star.' Drum corps brass was not on the radar. As more and more top high school and college musicians experienced the developing DCI teaching concepts that swept the activity through the '80s and beyond, and with the influence of DCI and WGI on the activity, the level of performance and demand mushroomed; and now, I think DCI is akin to marching band on steroids. But, the good old days can safely be remembered and then placed to the side, IMHO.

Some interesting thoughts, although it is obvious that the narrator and anyone else within a couple of city blocks will be 'relishing' the Cadets (unless they have cotton in their ears). I'm thinking it makes sense to be a little patient to see what additional adjustments are made to the show and its staging in the next few weeks. I'm just enjoying the fact that the Cadets already have a level of execution in the music and drill that some other corps would kill for in August...IMHO.