Bandoleer

Second this...nobody else is consistently better year in year out

From the show last night.... Battalion won the open class competition...they had the most demand and that seemed to be the difference. Shout out to Pacific Crest.... their shows just seem to get better each year. My daughter's favorite, design wise. Off the grid was very interesting with the grid laid down....kind of a tripping hazard. Genesis was a welcome addition to the PNW swing. They had some nice sequences. This is the first Blue Knights show I could really get behind. I commented on BD in the BD thread... if it's a choice between BD, SCV, and Bloo for first, Ghostlight has my vote. Troopers hosted and honestly were even better than last year. Glad they host here...had a good exchange with a Trooper mom at the souvie booth. Just a fun group to be around.

Saw the show last night. Definitely my favorite of this era from BD. Better than the DCI winner two years ago, IMHO. Demand is high and there's still room for achievement to grow. The voice overs are generally good, but the Britney one seemed to cover up the brass entry. Mistiming? I don't think that bit is needed anyway. Best uni in a while from them as well.

You made me look...yikes. I hope it looks good on the field.

Just watched the video... This is going to be a fun show to watch. I like the arrangement so far. It is full of cheese, but hey, lay it on 😀. Closer was nice. The voice over on the ballad seems unnecessary..let the musicians carry the tune, IMHO. Wish they were coming out west! Best of luck to BAC this summer!

Nothing but love for BD. I thought they had the best rep so far, even watched a bit of their show tunes from a preview in Concord. Will see them next month. Just surprised how exciting the rep is for Crown this year 🙂 so the distracted boyfriend meme was on point.

via Imgflip Meme Generator

Yes, if yours was musical, mine was narrative. I just have a tough time explaining the narrative discontinuity to people who watch. I am ok with the change itself just would like to have seen the development earlier. Nobody aside from we who are in the know associates the narrative change with a stance against gun violence given the era portrayed.

Sure, I understand your perspective. I think if they had that ending in mind from the beginning it would not be such an issue for me.

Agree most of this. Crown took a downturn for me when they changed the outcome of the ending. So cheap. They have been great the next two years but never convinced me with the shows narrative since caving at the end of relentless. Hope they recapture that, don't care about placement. I think that's the key to unlocking more GE

We all know the scores, but who won the pyjama party?!? I say Troop with a classic look and change through the show, with SCV a close second. OC lost with their unis.... please burn them after the season. One viewing was enough. THE ROOKIES Columbians had some great music but the show was not as demanding as BAC...errrr Battalion. The SLC corps was definitely working hard, though inconsistent. NOT QUITE FINALISTS The wife loved Cascades show, though they were last in WC. It was pretty fun. I appreciated Pacific Crest a bit more. They were the top of that second tier. OC had some great moments musically, but I almost booed when the crazy Jack flags came out. Yikes. Did like the ending to that show... or maybe that it was over? THE PAYOFF Troop was great, and went last as it was their show. They were like the light dessert that feels great after a heavy meal. Academy had the clearest theme, sharply executed with great sound. Rooting for them to get to finals. They were a nice warmup for SCV. The Santa Clara Checkmarks checked every box for me. The designers got smart and placed the mellos on the 50. It was like meeting Jesus. I don't know who beats them. They even made me like the dance break, and I hate those. As always a great night for drum corps and congrats to all the corps and MMs.

Better than Madison unis last year? Have not seen them...

That was my impression too, but I realized the setting might have something to do with that. I'll be interested to hear how this sounds in competition at the tour opener.

I am disappointed personally, but I can understand the need for financial responsibility. I was excited to see the Cadets out west this year.

I (still) am looking forward to seeing Cadets on the NW route this July. Never have seen them live, and I'd hate for them to cancel. They will get a huge cheer from the Boise crowd. This is the corps I highlighted when the schedule came out. I do realize that it's a bit selfish right now for me to want to see them on tour. Anyway, best wishes for alums, staff, and current MMs and families.

My top five (5-6 months after finals) rankings: 1) SCV -- Easily the most rewatchable show. Those Mellos man... and the tag ending, sweet! 2) Crown -- Best brass + Roxanne + great guard work. The non DCI followers in my household thought they were the winners. 3) BD -- Loved the ballad, and the use of the trombones. They found a nice way to present the Tempest theme in a typical BD way. 4) Coats -- Great energy, loved Todo Tiende...But a little saccharine over repeated viewing. 5) Cavvies -- Getting back into contention, liked this one more and more as the season progressed.

Speaking of the first theme, would love a corps to try this: https://youtu.be/_HyCUr95LEU

FWIW, I like OOTW quite a bit more a couple of years on. Not my favorite show from that year, but better than fifth. As for the staff chemistry, there might be one corps that has that figured out. It will be interesting to see what happens. As a brass player, they could do a brass program, barely make finals, and I'd still love it. ;)

Agreed, this DCI time capsule is so very telling as a snapshot of corps expectations.

Ha! When I read this I immediately imagined the interplay of two WWE announcers when an unexpected wrestler enters the arena. "That's Michael Gaines music!" 😂😂😂 It would be interesting to see what he could do at Crown.

Yeah, Battalion has a good show. I spoke with their concessions folks last night and they're practically out of their most popular gear. They didn't expect the kind of demand for gear from the new corps.

From the show last night in Boise (Kuna), Vanguard was the clear winner and performed wonderfully. The setup and staging of their program will get them quite far. From comments here, I think they are more like Cadets with a clear show theme that has translated quite well. Not throwing shade on Cadets, but I do wonder if they wouldn't be better off with a show like Force of Nature. Last night's shows also featured the tiniest MM I've ever seen, from Thunder (Spokane). That mellophone bell practically covered the entire top half of their body. Also the tiniest corps I've seen with 4 (!) guard members. Their drill was really ambitious for a small corps, but they did well with it. Other corps notes: Battalion were obviously new but seem well organized for the future. Everyone should see Clash (Columbians), at least once. Cascades had a really sweet brass release that left the audience gasping. The OC won the pillow fight for second at the show, the violin was classy. Many jokes about the uniforms, but the show worked with them.