MadFanRadTightsounds

IMO, this show will be very interesting in three ways. 1) Will BK and SCV be close in score tonight? Im looking forward to seeing if BK can make a push towards the 5th slot come finals time. I haven't seen either show live yet, so I can't make too accurate of a prediction, but the BK story this year has definitely been adding weight to the wait for Championship weekend. I have heard VERY good things from many about both of these shows so Im excited. 2) The battle between Blue Stars and Crossmen has been very fun thus far, possibly my favorite two to watch. Who will come up on top the round tonight? I'm not sure, but the constant flip flop in placement between these two has been awesome as a fan as neither corps can seem to pull away from the other. It feels like a hockey playoff series with neither team giving the other an edge and a game 7 a few weeks away. Replace Doc Emmerick with Brandt Crocker, and I can't wait to see these two duke it out in Indy. 3) The colts seem to be in a their own group at this show. Could they allow say OC to move close to them or can they make a push towards Stars and Bones? I bring this up because fooling around with DCP's ranking/history charts in stats/scores and looking at how corps compare to themselves last year and those around them, and interestingly, the Colts were about 5 points out of finals this time last year and they ended up out of it by a tenth or two? I know scores are relative and we shouldn't really compare them to years prior but if they can surge like they did last year, not only do we have an epic battle between Blue Stars and Crossmen happening, we can easily have Troopers(not performing at Little Rock tonight)and Colts (maybe even some others?) trying to work their way to the boxing ring with Blue Stars, Crossmen, and in the same field Boston Crusaders. Whose excited?!?

"(Corps to be named later, because this show is so great EVERYONE will want to do it) presents its 2016 production: Rings! A contemporary art piece through music examining big cultural phenomenons, both Hollywood and ESPN in style!" The show will be 5 mini movements that transition into the next, each ending with a giant circle on the field. This show CLEARLY needs to start off with some loud Lord of the Rings hits. The next movement will move smoothly with ease into a Drum Corps-ified version of the Newly Weds Game and Theme song complete with voice overs and hysterical commentary, this movement will bring audiences to their feet with laughter! Obviously, there would be a Halo ballad, ya know the chamber choir styled theme song from the hit video game about a giant ring planet flying in space! Crowds hearts will fall to pieces with such elegance of the slow section. Gracefully this show picks back up with a super jazzified version of Beyonce's "Single Ladies!" What Drum Corps fan WOULDN'T want to see this song done. I swear, whenever I'm in the lot, and I ask kids in corps after shows what song they would love to put on the field, 9/10 their response is "Man, I really wanna park, bark, and move my hips to some "Single Ladies!" Or, "ya know, our show is currently scoring very well, but it just doesn't feel right without a Beyonce tune." Then, for the most dramatic and GE filled moment in DCI history, the fifth movement, and ring, appears while the corps is playing some dragged out transitional piece, John Cage's 5'33'' comes to mind, until the other four movements/rings come out of the shadows(oh yeah, i forgot to mention there are huge bright pink, square props all over the field) and form the 5 Olympic rings. When that set hits, the Olympic fanfare by John Williams instantly blares out of the hornline and the crowd goes nuts! I really don't understand how this show could score low, so anticipate this crowd and judge pleaser to be on Saturday night!. I CANT wait for the corps reps contacting me to lead their design team. IM READY!

Nail on the head right there. Same goes for Academy, Colts, Blue Knights, and I'd even say Oregon Crusaders(Placement wise) as well! Maybe everything will even out back to what it "should be" but its gonna be a fun night and everyone should be excited!

Agreed! I feel the only explanation for people complaining about performance order is they don't appreciate what the corps that are typically placed 13-22 as much as they should. Everyone of them in World class is a World class corps, hence the title, and they all rehearse and perform like world class corps. So what if a lower corps is being placed in the spotlight? The rules for drafting the time slots were set before scores from Denv/Minn were announced, that makes it fair. So to get mad and upset about what times your favorite corps perform, IMO, is silly. Yeah, theres the right to feel uncomfortable about a certain spot, but not to be angered about it. And yeah, the scores seemed a bit high from Denver, but it is what it is. If Minnesota's scores were 2 points higher Saturday, there wouldn't be an argument and those doing the arguing now would be all over these boards proclaiming how much better their teams are than the bottom half of the pack. To argue that the corps who got bad slots from Minnesota will have an incredible negative affect from the schedule is to admit that the corps in say the 17-13 range 'standard corps' typically have an unfair advantage at regionals because they perform earlier in the day and your argument doesn't have a strong validity. Let the kids play, and let the judges judge. The placements at the end of the night come down to how well a corps performs, not by the hand positions of a clock when they step off. If the corps that good spots for Texas can hold their own, this might end up being the most exciting year of drum corps in a while with potentially seven corps competing for 9-12th and four or five corps competing for a championship. Sit back and enjoy the sounds and sights Saturday and maybe you'll see why there are some scores have been all over the place, everyone is good this year.

This is a big show for all these corps! Its pretty much everyone pushing for that 12 (possibly 11) spot! My prediction: 1.Troopers 2.Colts 3.Academy 4.Spirit of Atlanta 5.Pacific Crest All within 3 points of each other. I could see Colts or Academy winning as well! Good luck everyone!

Excited to see the night's scores from these corps! Very interested in how much louder Bloo's Kinetic Noise will be above the pack. Possibly even more interesting will be who will take home the bronze. Will the home favorite's Shot be enough, will the kids from Casper Stampede onto the podium, or will Spirit Burn them both to Ashes? Maybe even a tie! (cue DCI DVD intro)

My predictions (Doesn't include Open Class) 1. Cadets: I really like their show this year! I feel like they've been robbed of spots a couple of times in the past few years (thought they should have been second in 2013)and I think this year they pull it off. 2. Blue Devils: Haven't seen their show this year, but I could see a great product coming out of Concord yet again 3. Carolina Crown: I was skeptic when I saw their show announcement as they usually play very peaceful emotional music, but man do they pull of the different style. They are literally hot. 4/5. BlueCoats/SCV: I can see these two spots flopping the remainder of the year. I haven't seen Santa Clara yet this year, but Bluecoats have another high scoring affair for the summer. I'm not sure whether its as appealing to me as last year though. 6/7. Cavies/BK: Blue Knights are coming off of a really great year and their horn line is very impressive as of late. I would have put them in the 6 spot, but the Cavaliers seem to have a really cool show that has a lot of potential to grow. (Maybe even a shot at 5th?) 8. Boston Crusaders: I haven't seen their show yet, but they seem to be scoring really high compared to those below them in my prediction 9. Phantom Regiment: I haven't seen them either yet, but they always seem to impress on an emotional level. However, word on the street is their a little sloppy right now. Do they have time to catch up? 10: Crossmen: I haven't seen their show this year, but I like the music selection and heard its a great show compared to theirs last year. 11/12/13. Blue Stars/Madison/Colts: I have been very fortunate to have seen these corps numerous times as they have been in my area a lot so far this summer. I really like the Blue Stars theme this year, my favorite of theirs since Hudini. Their brass is phenomenal on an individual level and their book is impressive, they just seem to lack the fire power from years passed. It could be they are still working out volume for spots, but they just don't seem very loud. Madison has a very fun, in your face show which I love. They seem super happy with their show and have come out to play every time I've seen them. It seems a lot of people really dislike the Colts show this year on DCP. The crowd rumors I hear at live shows are mixed, but most really enjoy it. This might sound crazy to a lot of people, but I honestly in a lot of their show, they sound like a top 8 hornline; I think their ballad could be up there for one of the best moments in DCI this year. I definitely agree with many that they could use some more playing time to improve the product though. Their room for improvement and great brass sound have them in the mix for the last spot Saturday night if not moving up to potentially 11th or higher. 15/15. Troopers/The Academy: I really really liked the Troopers show when I saw it this summer. They have a very strong visual/GE component early on, but I am not sure that it can continue to grow it into a finals spot, a little bit like last year. Both shows I really loved, but they seem to stay the same throughout the year. I haven't seen the Academy yet, but word on the street and scores indicate they aren't messing around this year. 16. Spirit: I haven't seen them yet, but they haven't really indicated score wise they will make push for Saturday night. 17-22. Pac Crest/Mandarins/Jersey Surf/Cascades/Oregon/Pioneer: I have only seen Pioneer out of this chunk and its great to see them have large numbers. I'd really like to see them move up to 18 or 19 this year. The best I've seen them since I've been watching.