lanceengland

Before the moment is lost, I thought I'd share some brief thoughts. Academy - show theme is cute. Blue Stars - Nice brass line. I don't get Lady Marmalade. Blue Knights - drumline is hella good. Phantom - I think I counted 200 guard members. Cadets - the show has cleaned up a lot, and the glorious closing three notes cures a LOT of ills. You can dress them up in ketchup and mustard robes, but Cadets bad-assery cannot be contained. Snareline was BRINGING it! I think the show needs more crosses (joke). Really, my only beef with the show is the tarp with the cross where they just toss discarded uniforms on it. Seems kinda disrespectful. Cavaliers - I don't like the props. Guard did a lot of really impressive stuff. I wish the closer were more Mars, less Frank, but it's an interesting mash-up. Bluecoats - The uniforms take away my visual enjoyment of the show. Zappa was great. Show looks fun to perform. SCV - Delivered in every possible way. I like the old ending better, but that is nit-picking. There isn't a #### thing wrong with this show. Blue Devils - From the ballad to the end, it is a brass explosion. A jaw-dropping show. I'm not sure anyone is beating them. Here's the big rub: They amplified the HELL out of them. A very noticeable difference in volume from the vast array of speakers lined up. I was 2nd row on the 50, and it was almost offensively loud. My ears were still ringing the next morning. I'm concerned about the effect of the amplification arms race on the activity. I'm only singling BD here because they were the loudest by far. Crown - I love the improvements made on the music. Anna sounded great. The singing really works in the closer, but I still find myself waiting for the ballad to be over, which is usually their strong suit. It's not the singing so much as the source material. It's not a song I plan to seek out to listen to. No one to know one, on the other hand, is a really cool song that I have listened to many times. SoA - Georgia encore sounded fantastic. SoA is moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, I missed their show due to traffic. Shout-out to Maceachern High school and DCI for making the show work. And to all marching members, I salute you!

Wow! Cadets ending was the single best moment of the night so far! Brought the crowd to its feet.

Fantastic. Thanks for sharing and for assisting.

I had not seen the Cascades show before a few minutes ago, but anytime Shostakovich is included, my interest is immediately piqued. That's a singer?! I would've sworn it was some Beyonce track (not that I'm super familiar with those). Impressive "mash up". I hope Crown keeps working on the ballad. The latest singing changes to NTKO are working really well know, but I find myself just waiting for the ballad to be over (never a good sign).

Whew, I just watched the Broken Arrow show on a website. I have noticed many improvements to the show. They really are doing what Crown does so well; keep refining, polishing, and cleaning. I have seen many versions of the show from the premier to last night and it still had many "Wow!" moments for me. The vocal delivery has improved and many liens omitted in both the ballad and closer to give the brass more time to shine. I am very interested in the final version of the end of the closer. I wish there were a way they could "snap back" all the crooked field lines when Crown hits after the "I KNOW YOU!". Would be an amazing effect, though not sure how they could pull it off. The guard had a "Wow!" moment from me during the drum break in the closer. Down the line rifle tosses while going over and under a pole. I'm a drummer, I don't know how to describe it ;) By the way, I didn't see a football helmet tarp. Someone mentioned that on the show thread. Where did I miss it?

The spread in brass is microscopic. Mercy.

Vocals in the ballad seem to work now. Vocals in part of the closer still need refinement. Which is funny to me, because after the premier I said the exact opposite.

That was the year I got back into drum corp after years of not following it. I went to watch the quarterfinals at the movie theater,m I can't even rember exactly why. I had no idea about any of the shows. I distinctly remember multiple times during the show turning to my brother and saying "Holy ####, this show kicks a**!". When they were finished the entire theater gave a standing ovation. We were still recovering from PR's performance and I asked aloud "How is that show in third place?! Cavaliers and BD shows must be unreal!" No offense to those shows, but they just didn't have the same impact. I, along with the rest of the fans, followed the drama of them climbing to 2nd in semis, then to 1st in finals. Phantom Regiment was my first corp I fell in love with, and they were the corp that brought me back into the activity. They are the corp that has the most personal favorite shows and favorite moments. What can I say, I just love me some Regiment. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I did not notice that. I wonder if they are holding back the major resolve for the crown set?

I know I'm being redundant here, but I am all on-board with this show, and I think many people who had concerns will also come around. This horn line is the best since 2013, and maybe better. To sound this good, this early in the season is unbelievable. Also, after listening many time to "No one to kNow one", and how the song deconstructs at the end, I have a feeling Crown may do something really chaotic. I really can't wait to see how it progresses. Finally, I had to remind myself that DCI isn't just about the scores. All the kids work their tails off, and there is something to like about every show. And for me, this show is my favorite this season. (And if anyone cares, SCV is my second fave so far). Cheers to all!

This is my favorite show of the summer. I can't wait to see how they finish the closer.

Xmen and Blue Stars were OK. I actually liked Cadets. It was on the good side of a hot mess, in that I think it will get cleaned up over the next weeks. The chorus parts worked; the spoken words did not. I just didn't like Cavaliers. :( I was expecting more Green machine and Mars to blow my face off. The first two Crown pieces were fantastic. The best part of the night. I'm luke-warm at best on the singer. Lots of potential in the show. Bloo. I think the stage is already an icon of the 2017 season. Very creative. Not crazy about the uniforms. Also three things that evoked memories of "Feliniesque" (but maybe thats just me): 1. The long white stage crossing the field 2. Tenor feature at the end of a quiet moment that ends with a bell chime 3. The fishnet and guard feature. The show has tons of potential in this show too. I'm not set in my ways (I don't think). I cheered as loud as anyone last year for Bloo to win. I think if I had to sum it up its "Don't just throw crap on the field for the sake of throwing crap on the field". This phenomenon is certainly not new to this year. I anxiously await what BD, SCV, Regiment, and Madison bring this year. Oh, and Academy! I give tons of respect to all designers and performers. I think season premiers are tough because finals are still fresh and it is a very unfair comparison.

I have watched a video of Crown's performance three times and listened to just the audio once. Since everyone else has offered an early opinion, I will add mine too: The opener is perfect. The second piece (sorry, don't know the name) is amazing. It showcases the hornline's amazing technique and velocity. The ballad. I think the singing can be OK. A little pitchy hear and there (better than I could do, to be clear). It is a little "Disney on Ice". I'm not a fan of singing in DCI. The performer is fine. I wonder if a solo horn player playing a similar melody as the singer would help it blend? No one to know one. Now this is a monster of a song. IT IS out of left field compared to the the first three pieces, but I dig it. The singing works pretty well on this one actually. The closer. Musically I dig it. it has another meaty drumline/hornline syncopation part that is fantastic. More singing, and it reminds me of that old Blondie song where she sort of "raps". It's at this point where I think the singing has overstayed its welcome a bit. All in all, the show has a LOT of meat, and I fully expect them to be a top 3 contender. It's hard to rate the guard from the video, but the drum line sounds pretty good for early season. I am looking forward to the premier tonight to compare my initial thoughts.

I'm happy to be wrong about 93 PR :) I wasn't following DCI in the 90s so I'm still catching up that decade. My point of view was that DCI 93 immediately think of Star being bested by Cadets. So I guess it was underrated by ME until recently! I'll throw another PR show out there for discussion. Anyone think PR 2010 "Into the Light" is underrated?

Probably because I was just listening to it, but Phantom Regiment 1993 comes to mind. It gets a little lost in the conversation after Star and Cadets, but man that is a beautiful show.

I watch the JSU Marching Southerners when they live stream their halftime shows on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/southerners/?fref=ts

I LOVE that show. Cadets march their behinds off in that drill.

I've been listening online to many of the 2016 shows while I work (disclaimer: I will be purchasing DCI media when made available). The two shows that I keep going back for multiple listens are SCV and Cadets. Both shows just beautifully performed. No real point to make, just wanted to throw some love the Cadets way.

That's awesome!

That is interesting. The music and visual paired so well, without knowing it's hard to tell which came first.

FAVORITE SHOW OF THE SEASON Bluecoats - As much as I loved the past two years shows, this one they put it all together. I think the music choices were PERFECT and gave them an awesome foundation to build a fantastic visual performance upon. FIRST RUNNER UP: Academy - What can I say? The design was cute and clever, the arrangements were beautiful, and the show struck a huge emotional chord. The first time I saw it I turned to my brother and said "I could watch that show again right now." SECOND RUNNER UP: Carolina Crown - Probably my favorite corp. I really like this show. If I'm being honest, and totally unfair to the mm, I LOVED last years show so much that this year just didn't quite hold the same grip. They had a fantastic run at finals though, and their guard was on fire. Their drum line is under appreciated. SHOWS THAT I APPRECIATE MORE NOW THAN DURING THE SEASON Santa Clara Vanguard - The music has really stuck with me and I've sought out various unsupported places to listen again. Every listen I like the music more. Blue Knights - I love their trippy approach. The kind of show that bears repeat viewings. OUT OF MY SEAT MOMENT Cavaliers - The final three hits/mosh pit rush to the front. I was second row on the 50 and it was INTENSE being right in front. The looks on the faces of the members was reminiscent of the dominating Cavaliers corps of 15 years ago. I was out of my seat before I realized what was happening! KUDOS TO ALL All the kids performed fantastic. I appreciate everyone that participates, attends, supports, and loves this activity.

Yes! That was a great moment. I hope they bring that back in the future.

It's an interesting point I had not considered. I wonder if "backstage" time is judgeable? If not, should it be? I don't know.

Me too! Lack of anonymity keeps me (hopefully) from saying anything dumb :)

I was at Finals, 2nd row on the 50, #humblebrag :-D wearing my newly purchased Drum Corpse Bride shirt and was fighting back tears watching the show (yea, I'm an old softie). I was so happy for the ovation during retreat. Seeing Devils and Bloo and other corps applauding them was my favorite moment of the night too.