chris ncsu

Off the top of my head, I'd say the following (and I might change my mind), but I'm going to vote for shows I've never seen because if I have to watch the same uberpopular shows all over again (Cavies 02, SCV 89), I'll be disappointed... Kilties 75 SCV 78 Bridgemen 80 PR 82 Spirit 86 Suncoast 88 (or 84!) Star 90 Crossmen 92 Cavies 98 Scouts 99 BK 00 Bloo 04 *I just hope my theater can do a better job with the sound this time...quarters 04 and last year's countdown were rather disappointing on this front...

I KNEW I heard that in their show...*calls father to tell him I'm not crazy*

Aw, I thought it was pretty ballsy what Glassmen did with New World this year. It takes some guts to take a piece well-known and well-loved by the drum corps community (and some would say maxed out by Phantom in 89)...rip it apart (don't mean that in a bad way)...and of all people, have the Glassmen play it (not a diss on GMen at all, but to me it doesn't seem like their typical material, and some people feel strongly that they can be rather boring).

Ah, that's true, yes! Dueling Banjos for Madison, Devil Went Down for Spirit.

In high school, my sophomore year...our drumline (I played snare) was very good, but the brass left a lot to be desired...and one drum judge said 'You guys are doing very well...especially considering...what's going on around you...' ouch... not flat out mean, but certainly not nice.

Didn't Madison have a Devil Went Down To Georgia percussion solo? Maybe it was Spirit, that makes more sense...

But they won in 96 with a less-than-jawdropping drill design (it was an extremely appropriate drill and very well-performed, but not exactly 'wowie') and a very good but conservative guard routine...they won by being strong in all captions and tops in brass and GE.

I'm under the impression that in recent times, it's been Cadets-Cavies definitely, and possibly Crown-Madison?

:( well I still think he's a pissant *runs away pouting*

Yeah, it's only about a 90-second piece, it's not like Stamp could complain about Cavies missing the nuances, themes...

Those ARE loud aren't they! I had it playing in the living room while I was doing some housework and wasn't really paying attention when those 3 notes about killed me!

Ugh, I thought we had decided that SCV won in 88, and BD in 94... *so confused*

yar!

When the drum major looks like he's going to explode and eat someone toward the end (Cadets 97).

I second that. If I want to put a quick smile on my face with drum corps videos...I watch the closer of Cadets 96 (along with Cadets 01 ballad) for the guard. They look like they're having so much fun, and they're perfect doing it (except for the one unfortunate drop...it may be right before the closer, I can't remember)...and so fitting for 'Happy Ending'.

I LOVE your avatar.

Oh, and how could I forget...Boston 2000...

Hm, you may be right, I see your point. I thought about 2001 also, but 1999 jumped out at me for some reason...

1991 Cadets -- They showed some risk with the insane Jeremiah piece in 1985, the lack of guard in 1986, and the intense explorations of single pieces of music in 1987 and 1988... But in 1991, with the eclectically metered Short Ride and the interesting guard equipment, the story-telling ballad, and a jazzy piece that was out of character of the post-1981 Cadets...1991 was THE risky show for them, and certainly no 1st place show...but to me it defines The Cadets. 1999 Blue Devils -- For me, this show defines the current era of the Blue Devils...fast, loud, a bit disjointed, the guard from ####, and a brass line that will send you packing... 2002 Cavaliers -- No need to really explain this one I guess...the current Cavies strive to wow us with drill moves, an athletic guard, and a brass line with the intonation and blend that everyone strives for. 1993 Phantom Regiment -- Great brass sound built from the bottom, expansive and precise drill and marching, great percussion book...that is Phantom. 1999 Madison Scouts -- Balls-to-the-wall as ever, but they told us they don't have to play Latin or big band to be The Men From Madison...a and a guard to drool over and exciting drill to boot 2004 SCV -- This is a tough one for me, because SCV has reinvented itself quite a bit in the past. You could certainly call 1997-2000 'the intense years', with 02-03 neirly so...but in general we know them as theatrical (88-91, for example)...so I guess 2004's show took a pretty intense piece of music, but built the theatrics back in...best of both worlds. 2003 Crown -- Most may probably agree 2003 was the start of the 'new Crown'...the Crown that really strives to design a show to highlight their current strengths, really try to make a complete package of a show, thematically and the corps itself. 'Bellissimo' did just that. ok tired of this now...

YES...sometimes I put that show on just to watch the guard in the ballad. Absolutely beautiful, love the color of the silks in that show in general...blue during Moondance, that green in the ballad, and red in the closer...even love the uniforms, too.

Yeah, I think one of Rondinero's first comments after the show was about their guard.

Man, how bout those trumpets in that Phantom Regiment marching band... :-p

Oh, I've always loved it when the Cadets pause in a scatter drill, and the music pauses...and they start a sort of canon, instrument by instrument, and those sections morph out of the scatter into lines or curves or what not, and each subsequent section joins into the form...those tickle me to death (see 93, 96 I think, perhaps more...).

Oh definitely, I'm very happy you guys get to do this, just wish I could see it is all I'm saying... but this party you speak of...whats up with that?

Ah, but SCV alumni performed at finals in Madison 02!