liebot

wth is this nonsense. dci show design fanfic? gtfo.

I honestly think the East Coast (New England, to be more specific) crowd skews older for three reasons: 1) There were A TON of corps in Massachusetts back in the day -- a lot of those people still attend shows 2) The high school band scene isn't nearly as active there as it is in other parts of the country (southeast, Texas, West Coast, etc.). Don't know what the cause of this is, but it's true (as someone who was a member of a Connecticut high school band). 3) There's only one World Class corps from the area, and it carries out a large portion of its operations in Florida. Maybe not as much of the local favorite that younger people will gravitate towards, go to see their friends in shows, etc.? Just thoughts. The New England shows are always some of the smallest of the season (at least in my experience), but also some of the loudest and most passionate. I love those shows (Lawrence, Lynn, Beverly, Bristol, etc.) because they feel so intimate and because the crowd is--for the most part (maybe Bristol's the exception)--experienced and knowledgeable.

Easy to say when your horn weighs two ounces. . . OP: definitely spend some time holding the horn. You'll really set yourself apart from the other auditioners if you can look like a ###### all weekend holding the horn without breaking. Perhaps silly, but definitely true.

My prediction from May 16: Not bad. 4 of the top 12 correct. Madison, SCV, and BK within one spot. My wishful thoughts re: Cavies and Crossmen did not come to fruition, and I seriously screwed up Bluecoats and Phantom. Probably the best I've ever done in a prediction, which, as I pointed out in May, was bound to happen because I had not paid attention to anything in the off-season.

Clearly the people saying "maybe it's a matter of other corps being better," or "4th or 5th place isn't sucking," do not understand the meaning of the word "relative." That or they just didn't read my post. Either way it's a reading comprehension failure.

Suck, of course, used relatively. But since '03, they haven't placed below 3rd in odd years. They haven't placed above fourth in even years. Theories?

Just saw the semis show. Good lord. What a closer. That's all I can say.

Just saw the semis show. . . chills throughout. Welcome back, Bones.

. . .Wayne Downey doesn't write the music anymore, does he? Has someone else pointed this out already?

Congrats from a Crossmen alum! Looking forward to seeing the Maltese cross on the field at retreat. Hopefully we can see that and the delta next year.

Ah yes, anecdotal evidence. Certainly unassailable data.

(note: not a corps video; not illegal)

UNITY

Dear 2011 Crossmen, I love you guys. Your show is kick-a**. I don't care what the judges think. Love, An alum

Just logged onto the webcast. INT looks good. I'm going to assume that joke has already been made. If not, shame on you all.

I am curious about this also.

Color me confused -- what's so inexplicable about these scores? - Madison has never beaten Bluecoats head-to-head this season - Madison's lead on Boston in head-to-head shows has been steadily decreasing (4.2 on 6/29, 2.4 on 7/1, down to 1.3 on 7/2, back up to 2.55 on 7/6, 1.35 on 7.7, 1 on 7/9, 1.05 on 7/10, .45 in Minneapolis, then Boston finally beating them in Denton and Odessa). - Blue Knights and Madison have met four times this season, with no corps beating the other by more than 1.5 (and Scouts' 1.35 lead on BK in Minneapolis being the only margin greater than 1 point). BK beat them in one show, Madison has beaten them in the other three, with the most recent margin being .55 Who are the other corps that magically jumped Madison? They haven't beaten SCV or Phantom head-to-head at any point this year. If you have been a drum corps fan for any significant amount of time and haven't yet learned that comparing scores from different shows is an exercise in futility, I feel bad for you. There is absolutely nothing important you can derive from different panels scoring different panels except MAYBE that if Corps X beats Corps Y by 5 pts on Day 1 and Corps Y beats Corps Z by 5 pts on Day 2, you can PROBABLY say Corps X is better than Corps Z. Anything beyond that is meaningless. I kind of hoped that drum corps fans would have more sense/have figured this out by now.

Just watched the Minnesota video on the fan network. Freakin' A! I don't care what place the corps is in, I love the show. Ballad is awwweeeesooommee. Horn line is dirty as hell, which probably has a lot to do with the numbers, but I'd rather have a corps playing dirty and with passion like they are than playing clean and mechanical. Love this show, love this corps.

I think that's a valid point.

It's one thing to dislike, it's another to say "it's not art." Who made you the arbiter of what is and is not art? Edit: Answer: Nobody did. And if you think you have an answer, congratulations, because you've just solved a puzzle that philosophers have been arguing about for years, and so-called "artists" of the mid-late 20th Century spent most of their careers trying to untangle. Art?

Just realized I never responded to this, and that probably made you think I was some sort of irresponsible, no-accountability troll, and we can't have that, can we? I don't think drum corps should commemorate 9/11 for the same reason I don't think drum corps should tackle any "big" topics (abortion, the death penalty, cancer (cough--cadets 2008--cough))--they're usually bad at it. I have always appreciated drum corps shows that are just 12 minutes of cool music and good marching on a football field, and usually find anything more than that (stories, overarching themes, "messages") distasteful and insulting. It's difficult enough to convey any sort of concrete theme through a drum corps show; usually people have to resort to overdoing things, to making stuff ultra-demonstrative, basically to beating you across the head with the theme or "point." And that approach is particularly troublesome and dangerous for themes to which a lot of people have highly-charged emotional responses (Magic's pirate show--not a lot of risk. . . Cavaliers' PTSD show (which I also found troubling)--slightly more risk). It often comes off as cheap, trite, or hackish, and there's also a sense that the people writing the show are somehow taking advantage of your emotions, plucking your heartstrings to get a response. It's also bothersome to me because for people that are/were close to ground zero, it's still a very sensitive subject. I'm not sure that a drum corps show lends the right gravitas that the situation requires, and for me personally I don't think a drum corps can give the subject the appropriate reverence. But that's just me, and I'm sure that there could be a drum corps fan somewhere who lost their entire family on 9/11 but thinks Scouts' tribute is great. And I wouldn't necessarily want to persuade that person to see things my way, but it's my opinion that a drum corps show is not the appropriate place. Take it or leave it, or feel free to point out all the flaws in my reasoning. FWIW, this show will never touch Cadets 2002 in terms of "oh-my-god-this-is-terrible" jingoism/overdoneness, as euponitone pointed out.

Closed-minded much? I bet you think Jackson Pollock was a hack, too.

Eh, I think Jay-Z has earned the right to claim most of those things. I wouldn't be surprised to hear them playing "Empire State of Mind" following "New York, New York" at Yankees games sometime down the line (in fact, I think they have done it already). And this is the same guy that's been calling himself the best rapper alive for years. He may not have the overstated grandiosity of a Kanye West or a Lil Wayne, but I think that's because his persona has always been that of the supreme businessman. . . which he is, compared to those two (and Eminem). I think he has a forceful personality, just not one that screams "ME ME ME ME" constantly like Kanye. I just don't buy the "concrete jungle where dreams are made, oh" thing. Listen to the song, that's not what she says.

I agree with the person that said the end doesn't really go anywhere. The majority of it is awesome, a total throwback drum corps closer... but the end just kind of fizzles to me. That said, to the person who said "You need to hear the lyrics," I feel compelled to point out that the lyrics to that song's chorus make absolutely no sense. "Concrete jungle where dreams are made of?" Don't you mean "concrete jungle that dreams are made of" or "concrete jungle where dreams are made?" This has always bothered me, despite my love for that song (and Jay-Z's lyrics, as opposed to what some hip-hop-hating old-man said earlier).

"Offensive" is a good word for the cadets synths.... -- Direct quote from a friend who was at the show last night.