defeldus2

You could have this same discussion every decade and their would always be grumps. The activity changes, the culture changes, and yes, the corps change with that. This is a good thing and I would argue all of the world class corps still have an identity, especially the elites. Those identities may have changed a lot over recent years (Bloo's reinvention starting with music and moving to full design and culture of the corps), but they still have an identity and arguably stronger than ever.

Serious chills. One of the most emotional moments in DCI, no doubt.

I think people are vastly overestimating Bloo. BD will be the corps to catch all summer. I think Crown and SCV have the right mix of show and talent to make a run on them. Bloo has GE but not as much to push them and separate them as last year.

Almost half of Crown's 2016 guard went to BAC with staff. They're a very tight bunch.

What an awful tragedy. Thoughts are with the entire Phantom family.

Ok, I'll bet it all: Mandarins make finals + SCV takes gold Or we go back to the standard top 12 and BD wins gold. Last year was either a shift in the drum corps world or an outlier and we return to the mean.

I noticed it in person on the 50 and the tapes confirmed it. I thought their finals performance was the weakest of their whole weekend.

One thing that stood out last night was that Bloo sounded much tighter in the intro and closer in a close setting than they do on the field. I feel like a lot of their high demand, syncopated, far spread out stuff has really struggled to lock in tightly across the field many times (including finals last year), and this stand still performance was a stark contrast to that and sounded much better. They are relying on so much listening demand across big spaces that it's almost impossible to lock that in and it bugs me every time they miss it.

Biggest take away from the night was Crown's battery is not effing around. So aggressive and tight. Love their intensity.

This is terrible logic. Profanity shouldn't be allowed, but saying something like "I hope you get cancer" is? "The world isn't fair" is a poor excuse for having no class, and that toxicity has nothing to do with the kids, who put up with way more of that in the world today than any previous generation. They don't need shelter or exposure, don't use that as a excuse for immaturity.

Your gimmick is so dull

Careful not to cut yourself on that edge

The last three years were themed shows (space, hell, western), this is a concept show a la 2009, 2012, 2013. I personally much prefer concept shows as opposed to themes that can be a little hoakey. You gotta admit, the past three years all had a pretty high cheese score.

Purple looks so, so good on Crown.

I actually liked Cadets 2016. I'm slotting them at 6th depending on how Cavies and BK come out. I think they end up in the 4-7 range.

This is literally the prediction thread. That's the entire point.

"I have been changed" I think that's the big emphasis, as opposed to the traditional meaning behind the song. That and it's just a beautiful ballad to rest the audience and give reprieve from the intensity and controlled chaos of the rest of the show. I think this show is going to end up being all about metamorphosis from order to chaos, deconstruction, but in an evolving way, not just tearing down.

Not sure how you don't consider Crown a top tier, considering their consistency since 2009. 5 medals - 1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze. 11 caption awards (including dominance last year). Compared to Bloo: 4 medals - 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze. Not sure on their caption count but it's definitely lower. Bloo has the current hype after winning last year, and I do consider them in the top just because they've nailed their style and corps identity. I just think it's hard to put Crown in the same group as Cavies, Cadets, and SCV considering their outright dominance of all 3 in the past 8 years or so. Crown is always a medal threat, the others are on the cusp of being so (which is why they are tier 2). A lot of people are doubting Crown because of the staff changes or conceptual show, but I'm not worried. I definitely don't see this being a 2014 year for Crown. My tiers: Tier 1 Blue Devils Bluecoats Crown Tier 2 SCV Cadets Cavaliers Tier 3 Blue Knights Phantom Regiment Tier 4 Blue Stars Boston Crusaders Crossmen Academy Madison Scouts Of that list, I think Cavaliers are the most likely to move up based on what we know, and Bluecoats will of course face the most pressure coming off a championship. Blue Devils are the clear target so far though. Crown and Cadets are wildcards for multiple reasons. The bottom 4 spots are going to be really interesting to watch with Academy coming off a landmark year, Boston retooling their staff in huge ways, and Madison having a lot to prove to themselves after 2016's heartbreaking conclusion.

Pants revealed on Instagram. Black back, silver to black leg to leg fade front. Look sharp.

The opening impact is just as good as 2008 IMO, which is my favorite ever. Even from the preview show, that's some of the most powerful brass in decades. Love the guard and form there too.

Judging from previews, I can't see anyone beating BD this year. Jesus. They're formulaic at this point, but it's a fantastic formula and they kill it on execution. Some of my favorite music in years. Crown could be anywhere depending on how they develop the narrative. The bones are there for something special, but at this point it's too abstract. Opening impact makes the entire show worth it though, jesus christ that brass is still pushing the entire activity. I think Cavaliers will have a fantastic year and push for a medal. SCV is hungry for a medal again as well. Cadets and Boston are my biggest wild cards. Big changes in both camps could mean anything. I'm very excited for BK, love the style they've developed. Can't wait for Indi.

This show is so much like 2013 at this point, and I'm incredibly excited about that. The brass book is nuts, the guard have some really cool things going on along with already incredible flag work, battery is cookin, and the closer is going to be nuts. It's very loose right now, but go back and watch the first run of E=MC2 and you'll see it was basically a mess at this point of the season design wise. The bones are there, I can't wait to see where they take this. I feel like the past 3 years were heavily themed shows (Space, Hell, Western), but this is more of a concept/story show, which gives them a lot more freedom to work within and showcase the member's talent. Crown is at their best when they're doing conceptual stories (2009, 2013) IMO, and I get that feeling from this show so far.

Criticizing corps for being celebratory at retreats is just as sad as criticizing Cadets for standing at attention. They're both fine. Get over it. And on that note, so are the black uniforms. I love them and they still fit the style of the corps. I would love to see a flash of maroon somewhere but overall I think they match the demeanor and look sharp and classy.

The World Wildlife Federation? o_0If you mean the WWE then I think you missed the joke.

There have been multiple threads about this exact thing. They all seem to ignore the fact that it would just cause the same issue for whatever the new cutoff spot is lol. Fan favorite would 99% of the time be a corps that's already a finalist.