jwillis35

As of now I think Bluecoats could be that corps. They are strong in all performance captions and design and GE should be strong come Finals. But I agree with your note above. To me however I think the deciding factor this year is Visual Analysis and GE. The top 4 are all strong in brass, perc, guard and I expect them all to be fairly clean in visual proficiency come Finals. If you get a situation where corps A takes brass, corps B takes perc, corps C takes guard, and corps D takes visual proficiency (or something close to that), then it will come down to how the judges read Vis Analysis and GE. This is where I think Bluecoats have an edge on Boston and Carolina. But I could be wrong -- and usually am. 🙂

Not really. I think you'll find that most people really like their show this year. To me the Blue Devils have my favorite intro and favorite ballad this year. As a whole show I love it. As always their performance captions in brass, percussion, and guard are just outstanding. Visual will continue to clean and they ultimately may be difficult to beat -- as they usually are. 🙂

Thanks for writing a nice review. Loved it.

Bravo, and thank you for doing this app. So far I think it works great and very stable.

I knew you did. You're one of the people I respect most on here and your visual analysis is so good (and music). I often refer to your analysis of shows when I want to know more about them. I think I was posting more for others to get a reference and to share my thoughts on the props. My apologies is the post felt insulting.

Essentially I think the Cadets are showing the athletic drive, strength, and never give up spirit of Atlas who was "one of four sons of the Titan Iapoetos and the Okeanid Klymene." "His brothers were Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoitios. Atlas and his brother Menoitios took part in the Titanomachy, a war between the Titans and their offspring the Olympians." The quoted section taken from The Story of Atlas. Many body building and other athletic competitions use the Atlas name as a symbol of strength, health, and fitness. A famous body builder named Charles Atlas (not his real name) used the Altas name and of course started a world-wide movement in body building and strength and conditioning. Although Atlas and the Tians lose to the Olympians I think the show revolves around his will to compete and never give up, which is why you often see statues of Atlas holding a Globe over his head. This is referenced in the opening of the Cadets show and again at the end when they wind-up into a circle Globe and rotate a little. The competition with the Olympians is I believe noted with the props (see the photo I attached) which remind me of the flag poles you see in Olympic villages and near the competing venues. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BnOMZvihrERI13JP3UUt4X-z1dK0Jo6H/view?usp=sharing

+2 for the clever thread name. Nice!

The Cadets are just fine. The show is dirty and it has some very physical body work and fast movement.unlike some corps out there the Cadets have their full closer...one that does not need to be changed. It will get tweaked but they truly have a full show. They added more body work last week and a few new sets. The timing of events will be the next goal then the cleaning begins. It's a magnificent show.

I agree with this for now. I think Phantom is a solid 5th. I do think Cadets can catch them but I am not sure they will pass PR. Need more of a read on Mandarins but they are really good. Unless Cavaliers put this show into focus and clean they will be 7th or lower.

Cadets need to clean. Very demanding show. They are quite dirty but boy is that a sensational show! They have a fantastic closer already in place which helps. But for now I would give Phantom the edge on Cadets. 5-9 is wicked. 1-4 is wicked. This is a great summer for drum corps.

Bluecoats are just tremendous!!!!! Everything about this show is strong though the closer will be tweaked a bit more. Very excited to see how far they can take this show. The upside for Bloo is super high. What a joy to watch.

It's an acquired taste when trombones play like that but that section has to be nasty and love it. That whole song after the ballad is wicked groovy fun.

The Cadets are just awesome! Like the uniforms. Love love love the music book. Percussion is HOT and I enjoyed how they featured only the pit in part 5 before the second ballad. The closer of this show is fabulous. When this is cleaned they will have the crowd wanting more. Classic Cadets ending. Nice nod to the Garfield G in the closer. Brass has a very difficult book and while not clean at all are beginning to get that Cadets sound. Their guard has taken a big step up. Wonderful work tonight with some excellent staging. Bravo Cadets! One of my favorite shows this summer.

Intro is great. Song 2 needs more clarity. Second half of this show from ballad to end is really nice. Visual well done. They use these props well. Like all the other corps they some cleaning to do but this show should grow into something wonderful. Closer needs the brass and percussion trades offs to be smoothed into a more flowing build to the show's climax. So great to see Music City with such a talented group and an adventurous show. Well done.

I got a chance to see the cavaliers last night. To be fair I was in my car and listening through my phone since I've been traveling to Hilton Head South Carolina. So take that for what it is but I thought what I saw was a huge improvement with the cavaliers program. I think the front end of the show especially the opener through the the John Rutter is really good. It simply needs more work in terms of musical expression so that it doesn't feel constantly loud. I don't know that I would change a lot visually with the opener other than maybe that opening triangle in the first hit of the John Rutter. Perhaps a little to bland for this wonderful vocal work. The middle portion of the show speaks better visually and the musical motifs are very pronounced and audible but it needs shaped. That is coming for sure. I love the way they're playing the West side story Somewhere. As they head into the closer they do need to do some visual work on how they get into the diagonal company front. Right now it's too noticeable...predictable. this will likely need reworked to make the build more emotional. In general the show has so much material and such a demanding brass book that they'll have to find a way to smooth things out. Some things need hosed. There is more than enough "meat" in this brass book. I think they are letting the brass blow very powerfully for now. Most likely to build endurance. As they add the nuances and dynamics the musical book should sing wonderfully. The percussions section is just stunning and the guard is really coming around. In general there's a lot of material in this show and there's a lot of room for them to just start hosing some things, tighten up the music book, add the finesse readjust a few visual elements. The show has a huge upside but for now it's a bit bombastic. If they get this right the fans will love it.

Blue Devils...A Big WOW tonight. Yes they have some work to do with the closer to really bring this production home but holy cow is the first 3/4 of the show fantastic! So strong across all captions and the ballad is gorgeous. Brass and percussion are just fantastic! Love it!

My general opinion on this is that today cleanliness will be rewarded more. If the show is super easy that will be noted by the judge. When you're talking about the top 12 corps though none of the shows are easy. But it depends on the time of the summer tour. During the early season I think judges will try to see where things are going and what the intended effect is. Around mid-season the GE judges will expect to see improvements and can get a better read on what the intended effect is supposed to generate. As the show cleans those intended effects should be more obvious. During Finals week if the corps is still not very clean then it can be seen as a negative. Perhaps the marchers/players were given something too demanding. In the end a cleaner show makes reading the visual and music so much more obvious. How hard does a show need to be? And does difficulty bring about effect? Sometimes it does. But not all the time. Sloppiness in the drill/visual program or music come Finals week will not project the show's intended effects very well. In this case the judges will give more credit to a corps that performs a show that is hard enough but also clearly developed and super clean in performance.

There is truth here. I know the judges try to do their best with GE. A lot of it is subjective. But there are things in GE that are not subjective. One judge takes a music based approach and how the visual is impacting that. The other takes a visual approach and how the music impacts that. The one aspect of GE that becomes a little more objective is in the area of cleanliness. GE judges do not judge cleanliness or performance captions, but they have eyes and ears and when they can tell a visual program is not clean there is no way they will give full credit. Same with music. If the corps still cannot play the show well then clearly they can't give as much credit. One of the things the Blue Devils figured out a long time ago is that if you don't CLEAN your show there is no chance of popping a nice GE number even if your show has all kinds of crazy moves and props and color and staging. The cleaner a show gets the more we can read the forms and visual or the music. But it would be interesting to see GE tossed out for something else or an expanded set of sub captions under music and visual.

Nice photos posted today on FB of Madison's brass line working with Robert W Smith. I actually really like this show and think they will be plenty entertaining and good come Finals week. Stay focused and emjoy your summer, Madison! Don't let all the doom and gloom talk on here get you down. I am pulling for you and I enjoy the show.

I think the Cavaliers show is the one I am watching most in large part because there is so much they can do with this production. With the right tweaks and adjustments I believe they have the kind of music book that can draw a lot of emotion providing the visual design takes off.

I think that will probably happen. I could see Boston taking Guard, Carolina taking Brass, Bluecoats taking percussion, and BD taking visual. GE will be a toss-up and just depends on how these shows evolve. The thing is each of these 4 corps are pretty strong at everything.

Still too difficult to say for sure how things will finish come Finals. The top 4 corps are truly outstanding and all of them have music books I love. Boston's Brass, Percussion, and Guard are just amazing. Same with BD. Bluecoats have killer percussion and the brass needs some cleaning but will get there. Their visual and GE is incredible. Carolina has one of those brass sections to die for. Percussion is truly excellent too. Love the show and music and even the drill. We will need to see where they take the total visual/GE program. It's just a fantastic race with the top 4. In terms of 5th and 6th place I think I give Phantom and Cadets an edge in grabbing those spots in some order. But I am not rulling out the Mandarins, Cavaliers, or Blue Stars. From 10th place to 15th place or so is a complete tossup but Troopers look soooooo GOOD right now. They will put pressure on a few corps above them. It's a great summer. Praying for no rain outs and not too much heat as the corps begin heading to Texas in another week or so.

I absolutely love the pacing of this Cadets show. It is unique and the music is wonderful. The uniforms do not bother me at all. I think it fits the theme. The closer of this show is going to be outstanding when cleaned.

You too. Your comment on Boston makes more sense than my gut feeling for sure. I know my thoughts last night are a bit premature. For some reason watching the show I kept thinking how much I loved every corps but that in the end it felt to me like Bluecoats may be the only show that can challenge BD. It's all just a hunch. I am hoping for a good 4-horse race with these top corps all separated by tenths.

This is very nice. My opinion stands and I appreciate your opinion.