lawdn

I saw too few Cadets shows in person so will limit my comments to those. 1987: impeccable. For me, still one of the touchstones of drum corps. I saw it live only at semis. The brilliance of their relatively minimalist visual paired with rich intricate music. It set up a contrast with a superb SCV show I also loved. I don’t know how anyone could pick a winner, but I was fine with this one winning. 2013: my reintroduction to Cadets with terrific music and drill and such impressive technical fundamentals. 2015: at San Antonio they had put in the near-final closer and finished 1st IIRC. I thought they would win at that point. I think they changed unis after that. By finals week it was clear they had been passed up but I was a huge fan of their drill and music. 2018: so emotional, and after all they had been through, it was so impressive that they didn’t water down their technical demand, even if they couldn’t get it all clean. So glad I saw it live. 2023: thrilling to see Cadets coming out to take on the challenge of rising back to the top. One of my favorite shows of a great summer. It makes it sadder that this was the final Cadets show but at least they were The Cadets all the way to the finish. I have loved other shows I have seen in the recordings but in my experience, the Cadets’ shows, like most corps’, can’t be fully appreciated other than live. P.S. based on other posts here I am going to dig up all the recordings of 90s Cadets shows I can.

Good on you! But fair warning to anyone sitting near you - that shirt is gonna be awfully ripe by the end of the summer! 🤣

You have made a profound observation, one that goes to the core of why this is so disturbing and awful, even as the abuse on its own is a tragedy.

I didn’t intend to glamorize him. I was long-winded and unclear to you, and you were succinct. I agree with you. I wish they’d caught him sooner, before he attacked more people. Secondarily, maybe then this corps would have a future.

I think you touch on something important when you allude to this being like a Shakespeare story, and I don’t mean to glorify anyone in saying that. My disclaimer is that I didn’t start to follow DCI politics in any way until 2013 and by that time GH struck me only as a narcissist whose “artistic” input only damaged the shows and who took credit for the work of amazing staff and MMs. Be that as it may, he was in senior management when the Cadets blossomed spectacularly and led an enduring revolution in drum corps, and I have got to believe he was an important contributor in some way to that. Unfortunately, he was using that position of power to abuse people directly and indirectly, it seems. It would take a treating psychologist to diagnose any specific pathology here, so you and we will never get the real answer to why. Going back to Greek tragedy and Arthurian legend, tragic protagonists like Oedipus and Arthur fell due to transgressions that were either unknown to them or of a magnitude far greater than could be known to them at the time they committed them. That is not at all what we are looking at here. We see so many contemporary examples of people who do great things and lead lives of service who are brought down by character flaws, often doing great harm through those flaws. And art through history, as with Shakespeare, has explored that theme. Here’s the thing though - in a situation like the Cadets, the evil was never necessary to the artistic and competitive greatness (and wouldn’t be defensible even if it did!). It never is necessary, and very arguably, the evil is ALWAYS working against the positive things a drum corps can achieve. The evil-doers must be separated from the activity and their actual and potential victims. What works against this is that power structures are often (nearly always?) structured to protect their power over all else, intentionally or unintentionally. For me, the history of this corps (and others) on the administrative and governance side demonstrates so clearly the critical role of oversight on compliance, and that oversight needs to be vigilant, independent, and feel at least a bit intrusive and uncomfortable to the overseen organization, at least until the compliance mindset is so integral to the organization that they welcome oversight as a means to better maintain compliance. Sorry for the rambling. I struggle to make sense of it all. This is a horrible tragedy for those who were directly abused by some Cadets leadership and staff, including this plaintiff, those who spoke up, and those who remained silent, and for those who suffer as a consequence, including the countless alumni and staff who brought us so many glorious performances on the field over the decades and those who might have been The Cadets of the future.

I liked 2023 so much. One of my favorites in a strong summer. Your son and you should be proud for being part of it.

Thank you, Cadets, for the wonderful shows and performances you brought to drum corps fans for so many decades. I will always remember you for the high standards you set on the field. My heart goes out to the countless alumni and staff and supporters who brought us this positive legacy of education and excellence. My heart goes out as well to those who suffered abuses within the corps. Let us hope and work for the dsy when the drum corps can be experienced and enjoyed without the fear of suffering of any MMs or staff or volunteers. Peace to all.

I happened to be staying in what I think was the SCV hotel, unofficial or official, in 2018, and happy doesn’t begin to describe the alum in the hotel bar after finals. They had made such a strong charge in 2017, and it was wonderful to see that corps and the show in 2018 recognized with a gold medal. It was pretty undeniable out of the gate at Stanford, even if BD won a few early season matchups. I got to see them twice in Texas that summer and it was pretty clear by then no one was catching SCV. I really appreciate this thread. I hadn’t known “Pathways”, and it is great to discover it belatedly and hear and read the perspectives of those inside and outside of the show. Thanks to all!

You weren’t in Indy in 2013 IIRC. My first finals experience. I was pretty stunned by the dislike for BD, but I guess it was manifested by silence instead of booing so that’s a win for civility? Of course, a dark, edgy, jazz-based show performed at a high level was right up my alley even if it had some clear design flaws.There were a number of shows I didn’t care for that year but I was jazzed to be there and stood and cheered after every show. To each their own. I do geek out on trying to understand and embrace the concept of each show on its own terms. I almost always get there but not always. And both you and @Chief Guns are cool 😎, but he is a phenomenon of cool 😂

...

My impression was that the chemistry that corps had was unsurpassed, in the sense of everyone buying in completely to the concept and the staff and MMs figuring out how to perform both as a single organism and as individuals empowered and with the responsibility to create specific characters and personal moments within the larger show context. While MM technical skills might be argued to have improved over the last decade, that chemistry is always the gold standard for any corps.

Darn you! I saw this late and had to rewatch Felliniesque (again) and stayed up too late. A sublime show and such a high standard of performance. I can see how some visual skills and aspects have advanced in the activity over the past 10 years but remembering back to what it was for its time, it was breathtaking then and still is today. I almost cried seeing the last 2 of their performances on finals night knowing I would never again see it live. It was that beautiful and special for me.

You were not paying attention to @Chief Guns or anyone else who saw Mandarins early last year! But that show really had to be witnessed in person to believe.

The one huge advantage of Lucas Oil - it don’t rain in Indianapolis in the summertime…. I respect your position on domes though.

Hoping DCI avoids last year’s fiasco of the Rose Bowl forcing a schedule change on them, which required DCI to revamp the schedule for multiple CA shows. Now we should hope they can avoid that for Houston show too. But it sounds like Houston has a lot of venue options.