MikeRapp

My goodness, Metropolis with those mellophones...its not fair that othe corps have to compete with that. You can imagine what the drill will be like for that piece, it’s gonna be a two minute standing ovation.

It’s abou ###### time. Imo jazz should be a fundamental style of drum corps, and I hope this year is the beginning of a trend in that direction.

If ever there was a piece created to be a finale to a drum corps show, this is it.

No question the middle and lower brass for Bluecoats is totally different than BD.

Yes, 90s Devils. But the brass staging smells of current BD. The arrangements, especially early in the show, are right out of the Bd Playbook. And I say this as a compliment. The last third of the show...all Bluecoats. Cannot wait to see how they evolve the show as the season progresses. So many possibilities. They are going to be tough to keep off the medal stand. Scv, wow, what a shocker too, and I mean that as, with as many age outs as they had last year they return with something this advanced?! Dayum. This is not the year to be a pretty good contender. This very well could be the year Bd finishes fourth, if Crown can get their show moving. And again, that’s nothing against BD. They are always going to be in the mix, you cannot ever count them out, but these other big time corps have figured out the formula and they are putting massive, complex, stylish shows on the field from day 1.

If I didn’t know better, I would think Sesson 44 is Blue Devils. With hipper costumes.

Bluecoats are going to have to fix their percussion issues, and fast. They have a decent shot at a medal, maybe even a gold one, but not with percussion scoring this low.

This brass book is really cool. If they can perfect this at mid season Vanguard is going to be a force.

I suspect Bluecoats will medal. Their show demands too much originality points. Not sure their staging and drill will be strong enough to compete for gold this go around. But they are going to be tough to beat for the Ott.

My first impression of Bluecoats is that they will score very well but may not be the fan favorite they have been. I do dig the costumes though

Bluecoats should get points for originality over Crown. So many of the same licks, arrangement concepts and staging for CC. I am not sure that Bluecoats will be my favorite this year but at least they went original yet again.

Which continues to be why Scouts are where they are. Again, I’m not saying where they are is bad. But last season was indicative of a leadership issue imo. Scouts doing mad max screamed of, we are an all male corps and we are going to reinvent ourselves as an all male corps. It felt forced beyond forced. I so wanted them to be competitive last year, and I will always have a soft spot for Scouts. But I’m ready for them to move forward, to be something new that doesn’t always have to be so obviously tied to their past. I feel the same way about Phantom. Both corps seem petrified to do something completely new. They try, but then always seem to have those on the nose decisions that give it away. Bluecoats, Boston, these are corps that have reinvented themselves. They respect their history by remaining relevant today, not by continuing to remind everyone where they used to be. Alumni are crucial to the success of any NFP, but if alumni dictate direction you are ultimately doomed to be a follower. Kids have short memories. They don’t really care about history. They want to create their own history.

What got the big crowd reaction in the opener? Couldn’t tell from the vids. I will say, if I didn’t know better, I would think this was a Blue Devils show. Not saying that’s good or bad. It’s straight up BD from the arrangements, staging of brass, showflow and of course props staging. Weird.

Never said they shouldn’t.

I am not saying they shouldn’t hold on to their identity. But dci shows are way way beyond the past “identity” of the Scouts now. If you’re okay with Madison fighting to make finals, that’s cool, just don’t get angry when it happens.

I think it’s possible. I don’t think it’s reasonable to project Madison to be a medalist again if they continue to believe that they must be one gender. Like it or not, dci is moving quickly to a theatrical design paradigm. Imo you can’t eliminate half of the best marching members from Day 1 and expect to compete with 16+ Male and female world class corps.

Madison will never again be a medalist, let alone a DCI champion, as an all-Male corps.

I disagree. Madison needs to stop worrying about shows that "scream Madison," whatever that means. They need to look at corps that have reinvented themselves and do the same. Their legacy will always be what it was. As DCI grows, they are going to continue to decline if every show design begins with 1.) What will best work with only guys, and 2.) What screams Madison.

I am obviously nervous to post this, but how could they be worse? Hopkins was a morale sucking machine. Everyone who has ever worked around the guy knows this. Cadets deserve better.

I agree with this. Cadets have not in fact been better year over year under Hopkins' direction. They have been on a steady decline. Show design was always a weakness in recent years, apparently among other things. With Hopkins around, there was zero chance he wasn't going to continue to manhandle direction and details of design. In today's DCI, show design is part and parcel with the show itself. You can't just say a corps executed great but design stunk. The two, rightfully, go together. Cadets will immediately be a much better organization without Hopkins in every respect. I expect that to transfer to the field and to scores.

Bluecoats doing big band?! I couldn't possibly be happier!

The board empowered George to be their firewall to give them plausible deniability. A total abdication of their responsibilities. I cannot believe any of them think they should remain on the board after this.

How about, let’s for once separate the fate of Cadets from the fate of Hopkins? How could any rational, responsible board member let Hopkins continue to run the whole organization knowing what would transpire if these allegations proved true? This confirms what a total abdication of accountably the whole Cadets organization had “under” Hopkins. Staggering lack of common sense.

Maybe they should have been concerned about this prior to this utterly predictable nuclear explosion? It staggers my mind how any group of adults could have been so willfully enabling.

I think we here are all acutely and personally aware of the unique scenario in drum corps, and we all know of many situations at many corps where similar things happened. The mistake here would be to react to this as if it was otherwise. These organizations should already be proactive on all levels, and most are. But, they should also help their leaders remain in good standing with the activity. The terrible breach of trust here is not just what Hopkins did, but what everyone around him didn’t do. George needed accountability, and no one stepped up and required it. The enabling aspect of this is the dangerous aspect. No one person should have the ability to bring down any organization, anywhere.