jwillis35

This is NOT what is happening despite any rumors you hear. DCI only allows the solos to be amplified, then those mics have to be turned off during ensemble passages. When I listen to the Cadets balances during ensemble brass passages I can clearly hear a good blend of all players. And no, it is not a weak brass line with only a few good players. I think for a while some corps were experimenting with this (not Cadets) but it is no longer allowed.

Crown was awesome! Musically a killer good show. Ending is much better now. Just watched most of Cavaliers show. Much improved. New ending that I think is much better but not quite there yet. Percussion are just amazing.

Phantom is beginning to hit the next level. Much more pop and energy tonight. This is just fabulous.

If you can just focus on the brass and percussion I think you can enjoy Madison's show. I don't care for all the arrangements but I like most of it. The music itself just needs more direction and build. But that said they are producing a decent overall sound and are vastly improved from early season. The guard is obviously young and inexperienced and I am sure they are working super hard. The ball does nothing for the show. Visuals are still very dirty. If they can clean the feet and continue to improve the music ensemble they should offer up a nice musical presentation come Finals. I hope they can retain these kids and build for next year.

Nice write-up about the entire show. Well done. I agree here and in fact when I watch this section take note of when the brass gets wound-up into the circular form for the big climax of the ballad. As they begin this section you eventually see players snaking out from within the form, almost as if Matisse (who is bed ridden and is unable to move like he used to) is reaching out mentally with his creativity. His inner thoughts are pushing out of that form into a new form even as his body is diminished in ability.

https://youtu.be/FOrkOPMx1JY?t=636 I was just watching this show from 1982. Maybe still my personal favorite BD show of all. Talk about killer brass and drums. This is just the closing tune.

Fantastic write-up! As always. I very much appreciate these reviews from people that were at the show.

Dang my Buckeyes are getting beat up here. 🙂 It's all good. And yes, Ohio State is not a dynasty in college football. The only dynasty we have had in the past 14 years was Alabama. Georgia may be starting one with 2 championships in a row. In the 80s and early 90s Miami had a dynastic run. Florida State came close because they were so consistent and almost always top 4. Ohio State has never really been a dynasty type of program but they are consistently a top 4 to top 6 team year in and out. In drum & bugle corps from the time DCI began (1972) there have only been a few dynastic runs. There are corps that are incredibly consistent and are always top 5 but even that has changed over the years.

You are correct. Scores do matter. In fact they matter is 2 ways. There is the competitive ranking sense and also the fact that judges are acknowleging the work, performance and design put into the show. Even if you're the type of person that is not completely into scores it is nice when your hard work shows in the form of the score. Even if you did not win but were close to a corps in your tier. It makes the members feel good to be competitive and in the ball game if you will. Other times it is nice to beat a rival or a corps you have rarely beat. Even if you don't beat them all the time those little victories can keep the members pushing and achieving all summer. So there is a positive to competition, scores, and rankings. It also keeps the designers and teaching staff honest as they have to listen to the judges and continally adjust, tweak, rewrite and improve the show they give to the members.

Nice job last night, Cadets! Great music book between brass and perc. Lots of cleaning to do. Overall here is how I break down the show (as I see it): 1. The Arrival - Percussion and pit with etheral voices building wonder as the athletes enter for the battle between the Titans and the Olympians 2. Let The Games Begin - first big brass hit 3. Olympic Ordinals - basic competition begins with brass doing the fast double tonguing and some fast drill 4. Difficult Times - ballad 1, Atlas realizing the difficulties of trying to defeat the Olympians, personal reflection 5. The Competition Continues - percusson feature with all kinds of fast and difficult body moves by the brass and guard 6. Experiencing Defeat - Atlas not always winning and ultimately forced to carry the weight of the world over his head (as was his punishment). Big guard feature with Atlas in pain as they try to construct the globe over his head. 7. Be Strong - Even in defeat Atlas proves to be resilient and strong, this is ballad 2 8. Endurance and Fortitude - The loss aside Atlas becomes the picture of strength, endurance, fortitude, and mental toughness. His attitude inspires people world-wide to push and never give up. Classic Cadets drill with speed in the feet and music. Of these sections 1 - 5 are pretty good. Just need a lot of cleaning. Sections 6 and 7 need major work. Section 8 should be spectacular come Finals.

You are correct. Nobody really knows. I think a chunk of the SCV members spread out to a number of groups. I don't think there is a corps that picked up 20 or 30 of them. It's more like 1 to 2 kids with many different units. I've also heard many of them decided to take the summer off and work. Someone was mentioning that many in their percussion line decided not to march and were hoping Rennick and the corps would be back for 2024. But who knows. These are all rumors and nobody really knows the full truth on this. It would not surprrise me if 50% of SCV took the summer off.

Mandarins are absolutely looking at 5th or 6th place right now. Incredible. Almost 3 pointing the Cavaliers tonight.

BD clearly has a championship caliber show. No doubt. It remains to be seen if anyone can challenge them. Once this beast cleans and they tweak the ending I am not sure anyone can. I give Bluecoats the best shot. But BD is so dang good at everything they do that if the other 3 have even the slightest of weaknesses BD's strength across the board just becomes too much to chase. Right now I love everything in Blue Devils show up to the closer, and even that is pretty cool until the final move or two. The color of this show just pops and grabs you. The demands in music and visual are super strong and when cleaned should pop some incredible GE numbers.

Those flags during the ballad...Holy Cow! Just so well done. Brass section has to endure some serious sustaining during that ballad...all while snaking out of the one form to the snail from. Very physical.

Blue Devils....WOW! Marching technique = A+. Brass section is on FIRE! Percussion sounds fabulous so far. The guard is so exposed and wonderful. Just no weakneses. They sell every little aspect of this show.

Great job by Boston! The top 4 are just stacked with great brass, percussion and guard. Incredible stuff. I love their music. The baritone section in this corps is truly outstanding. Tubas sounded awesome. Visual program is mostly more traditional vs Bloo and BD. But I don't mind that. Some very readable forms. As with Bloo and BD closer needs some adjustments. They also need one of their show segments to really pop and grab the crowd in a big way kind of like that Tango from last year. Still definitely one of my favorite shows of the summer. We are lucky to see such a strong top 4 this year.

Bluecoats are just WOW WOW WOW! It's an enjoyable show with so many moods, grooves, tempos, and so many amazing visual moments that you find something new each time you see them. There really are no weaknesses for Bloo. Some cleaning and some work on the closer, but in general I find this show darn near perfect when you think about a combination of entertainment and competition.

You are correct. And by the way I really really appreciate your stance on these matters. I know we disagree about how they need to be handled. I think we are all on the same side. Some of us are coming to this from a legal perspective and other want to make sure the victim/survivor has support and that they are not victimized or treated unfairly. Those are all good things.

That is great and all, but if she was willing to finally go public with this why not file charges with law enforcement. Because that would lead to a legal investigation. Hopefully she has filed charges.

The 30 for 30 documentary on this was a real eye opener. So many mistakes were made by the D.A. and Police. They were so desparate to arrest privileged Duke students that they were willing to change the facts, withhold exculpatory evidence, and describe the event as if it actually happened to a media that ate it up and reported it like it was fact. Because of those false charges and all the lunacy that took place the falsley accused were able to sue Duke for over $20 million per person, not to mention all the other law suits which reportedly cost Duke over $100 Million.

I'm totally with you here. Personally I have no problem when Cadets alumni have strong opinions one way or another. It's an iconic corps that had an iconic style and uniform. People are going to have strong opinions about those things. Personally I think the Cadets thread this year has been mostly positive in large part because I think the alumni have been loving the show, or at least appreciating it, and they have articulated their thoughts elegantly. Very little drama on this thread when you look at the whole thing.

Fantastic review as always! It's always nice to hear from someone who was at the show. Interestingly I actually enjoyed Blue Knights quite a bit, but that was from a Flo perspective. Though I could tell they are likely playing too loud and their intonation was very bad most of the show. I totally agree about Mandarins. Good gravy are they good. I have been pulling for The Cadets and really love their show, especially their music, but I am not sure Cadets can beat Mandarins. There is just too much content in Mandarins show and it feels more seamlessly put together.

I agree. Not much they can do at this point. If this person is proven to be innocent (again...if) the sad reality is that there could be some civil lawsuits files against the accuser and BD. Had charges been filed with a follow-up investigation, even if it was reported a month after DCI Finals, the Law could have confirmed the accusers allegations or the innocence of the accused. No closure = sweeping it down the road for another corps to deal with.

I am totally fine with your argument here. I can only imagine what a person who is assaulted in such a way might feel. No doubt my arguments here are based on what needs to be done from a practical point of view to insure that charges are filed and that an investigation is in place. To me this is the only way to stop this nonsense. Not wanting to report the incident so the corps can march a full unit come Finals is understandable but not necessarily the right thing to do. Because of this we have two drum corps who may not have known anything about this a year ago and now they are being asked to do something about it 1 year later. So in the end it still harms the corps. It harms their reputation and forces them to act 1 year later on something they may have very little info on. Did the accuser contact the whistle blower hotline? Were the Bluecoats notified? How about BD before the season started? Because of the delayed allegations being made we are now asking the Blue Devils to potentially send a member packing for the rest of the tour and Finals. This is difficult. There is a possibility that no formal charges have been filed, no investigation, potentially no interviews and no DNA testing (if needed). So BD is being asked to deal with a situation based on a lot of unknowns.

There is a lot to like and love about Blue Knights. I very much like the uniforms and overall show design. Visuals are nice. Not clean yet but very nice. Some great ideas in this visual book. Musically I love the horn book. They are playing some fantastic music and they play with a BIG powerful sound. They definitely need to clean the articulations, improve intonation issues, and work for better clarity. Percussion have a nice book too. If they can clean this they can make a move. A very enjoyable show! Bravo BK!!!!