billj

Got it - now that I think about it, his breathing and the formation of his mouth didn't always match the amplified words coming out of the speaker. So, given what you said, I'll buy that it's him, giving it all in a recording room - but, I still think it's syncing.

OK, to be technically accurate, it's more that they've played Copland "Americana" songs multiple, but clarifying that doesn't make me feel any better about the show. I didn't dislike it, I just didn't really like it (which I have, many years). By the way, I going each season wanting to like Cadets.

I was in row 10 on the 40 - I could see the guys face very clearly (I should have taken photos). If he's not lip syncing, I'd be shocked. 1) He doesn't have the build of someone with the booming voice - not to say someone slender can't have a booming voice, but when his audio/mic was off for his very first reading, hearing him unplugged, I didn't get the booming sound, either ; 2) there were times where his audio seemed slightly AHEAD of his lips. I suppose the sound system could delay it a little. I'd seen a thread title that suggested lip syncing, so I knew to look for it, but I didn't read the discussion, so I didn't know if anyone had officially confirmed or denied it. Sorry if I'm wrong - not a big deal, but I kept checking during the show - and my family believed it to be syncing as well.

Row 10 on the 40 - had my face ripped off by most of the hornlines - that was fun. Quick review: BD - awesome hornline - I liked their music, which I don't normally: they played SONGS! I would have liked their show without all the props Bluecoats - liked the show a lot, theme is evident at all times - I get why they have props, and I minded them the least Blue Stars - after following BD and BC, I had prop overload - my head hurt - too much STUFF!!! - I liked the show a lot more than I did from a video, but still, way TOO MUCH STUFF on the field Crown - awesome hornline - I like the show a more than their season preview (via video), but it's still too similar in too many ways to last year's show/structure for me to fully embrace it - that, plus MORE PROPS cluttering the field :-( I would have enjoyed them just as much without ANY props. Cadets - flame away but they were by far the most boring of the night - yes, their hornline was loud and they were clean in all captions, but I just couldn't enjoy the show - going in, I didn't know that the narrator was lip syncing but that was a major, ongoing distraction for me the entire show, that I couldn't look past - and I I watched most other corps running around drill-wise more, and as I listened to music that the Cadets have played multiple times in the past, I was just bored - the stage was a minor form of prop distraction, as well Cavies - This is the most I've liked them in a long time (I'm actually not typically a fan of their shows)! The played SONGS - not their typical chop & bop! They DIDN'T HAVE PROPS but still conveyed their theme well!!!! They had fun with the theme and the music and they performed well. Maybe I liked them so much because they didn't have props? Thank goodness they didn't have coffins, gravestones, crosses, etc. - they proved that this junk is all unnecessary - bravo!!! Regiment - some struggles in the music performance from time to time - still fairly loud, though. Knowing the Swan Lake story now, I struggle with following the storyline in the show. The costume changes and appearances of the characters throughout the show just don't line up with a storyline that matches Swan Lake. Maybe they'll tweak it more, but it seems to me that the staff had their heart set on the uniform changes before thinking through how that would actually fit in the show. Hopefully they figure it out soon.

I dunno, after West Side Story, some Copland and the Planets are next on my list of wanting to ban for a while. I work with high school marching bands, so the repetition is magnified there, with so many more bands out there.

This is a great app! Live Tile & all! Thanks for showing some love to WP.

Actually, with the theme of this year's show, it would have been appropriate to play Malaguena - and I assume mellophoniums would be legal this year? Edit: added the photo of a mellophonium - would they be legal???

To give a short, simple answer to the OP: based on what I've seen and heard from others, there is an overall lack of creativity in the top 6-8 this year. Some exceptions, like BD and BC and perhaps Cavies, but a little too much rehash from others all in the same year.

Let me clarify: I'm not one of those people that wants Madison to play Malaguena or Malaga every year and have a rotating company front. I'd like to think that they can design shows and arrange music that are competitive AND still crowd appealing in a unique, Madison way. My overall disappointment is that they seem to have lost their identify and they don't really have a strong, unique style any longer.

Long time Madison fan & sad to see the decline in the 2000's. All I've seen this year is an early season video (not great coverage) on youtube. My feelings after one viewing: Disappointed in the music arranging - the promise of Kenton & Ellis, especially Niner Two and Open Wide let me down a lot by what sounds like chop & bop to me. Madison is loved for playing SONGS. Let them PLAY SONGS, not just a phrase or two from some great songs! Disappointed in the drill & visual approach - I don't know how else to describe the visual design other than (sorry to repeat) chop & bop - not a good flow at all due to lots of stops & starts and marching as the fast tempos and all of the choreography. Disappointed in the uniforms - not a great look and highlights every issue in marching and visual in the unnecessarily difficult visual design. And now, the addition of a giant prop, while it may fit the theme, is disappointing. Madison used to sell their shows simply through their marching, playing & spinning. They didn't need any stinking props. Again, I'm just a long-time drum corps fan and just one viewing of a video, so maybe I missed some things.

Very sad that Vanguard is not at Dekalb

Almost all of the top corps do this. They come out with a false ending or a lame ending or a short ending to 1) put on on a "full" show at the beginning of the season and 2) get more points down the road for "improvements" to the incomplete stuff that they initially put out.

Honestly, does it really matter whether or not they have hair extensions? All of the guards get so made up, what's the difference?

I've been hoping for a long time that they'd revisit Symphonie Fantastique, with black uniforms, of course. Ironically, you do realize that there's a storyline to Symphonie Fantastique, which includes Love, Death, and Monsters, which is very consistent with Regiment's direction.

Hi All, I haven't read all 70+ pages here, so sorry if any of this has been discussed already. Saw a bootleg video of Regiment from last week. It's not a bad design at all - and if they do have 100 rookies, they are doing quite well. If I have a big beef with anything, it's the guard changing tubes. Too much distraction, for far too long, without much of any payoff - it's very clear what they are and the guard seems to take forever to change their costume. I must say that I didn't know the Swan Lake story line, so I did some research. The show sort of follows the storyline, I guess, but I'm puzzled by a few things: - The story has 4 characters that could have been portrayed on the field: Odette (the swan queen), Prince Siegfried (love interest of Odette), Von Rothbart (evil sorcerer that turned Odette and others into swans), and Odile (Von Rothbart's daughter, whom he has cast a spell on to appear to be Odette, in an attempt to trick Siegfried into falling in love with). Odette and Siegfried appear on the field at times, but Von Rothbart and Odile do not, unless I missed it. Perhaps the corps is representing those characters? It would be easier to follow the story if those characters were more easily identifiable (more on that later)... - The story synopsis I read says that those 4 characters die at the end. I'll assume that only Siegfried dying and Odette simply disappearing at the end is a temporary ending, with a more complete ending to come in the future. - Continuing on the character portrayal path, is it remotely possible that Regiment would dare to take another shot at using a giant puppet, to bring Von Rothbart onto the field? There's a very large panel backfield on the 50. I'm just sayin'

Does anyone else see this opportunity: when the brass and percussion go behind the backdrops, what about a full corps costume/uniform change? They could come out dressed as the students/peasants. it would fit the music, since they are playing Do You Hear The People Sing. Thoughts?

Forgot about that one. You, sir, are correct. Didn't this show have pretty much zero melody ? Here's a few more: Blue Knights, mid 80's, Pirates of Penzance (however you spell it) Crossmen, mid 80's, played a latin/spanish style show - their tour tshirt said "Los Crossmen" - and why am I thinking that there was a picture of a mouse wearing a sombrero?

I swear that I did not see this before I posted. And Interstellar Suite and Petrouchka also came to mind.

Wow, several from my list have already been mentioned. My Fair Lady is at the top of my list. Others ... Crown's Greek Mythology show. They've had a great run of shows since. SCVs Not the Nutcracker Madison's El Relámpago Troopers this year

1) I loved Surf's show this year. It made me smile more than any show in recent memory. Some of my emotions were definitely tied to my youth, when Bridgemen were at the top of their game. 2) I don't not want to see everyone else go this route. This was essentially a throwback show. 3) I don't think people should have expectations that this type of show could score or place much higher. Things were very different back when Bridgemen and VK were placing high in finals. Among other things, they had some top-notch talent. But no matter where Surf places, if they can come close to connecting with the audience even close to how they did this year, they will once again be fan favorites. 4) Suggested show material for consideration: 1712 Overture by PDQ Bach. This would be a perfect fit!

I like the idea of the two-tiered system. At least the traditional class would sort of stand a chance at having a somewhat well-defined judging critieria. I have no idea how you'd judge the non traditional class. The word "art" seems to coming up a lot recently, describing shows as "art", having artistic directors and artistic consultants, etc.. I know that the Garfield Cadets coined the phrase "it looks like art, because it is" back in the 80's, but I''ve always felt that this was a case of thinking too highly of one's self, and I still do today. You can call these "artistic performances" if you want, but I just call them "performances". You can call the show designs "art" but I just call them "shows". Frankly, it starts getting a little too snooty and high-brow when the word "art" is thrown around so much. Let's not take this too seriously. As others have said, after all, it's just marching band. I'm a FMM and I've been involved for over 30 years. I love the activity, but I dont go to a show to have corps "teach me something", "make me think", or to portray some obscure theme that "I'm not smart enough to understand". THAT is art, and I don't really need it on my football field. Regarding scoring the non traditional class, come to think if it, you can't. You can't judge "art". You can't put a score on "art". It's up to each person to decide for themselves to judge the "art". It's totally subjective. This is probably the root of some of the issues that people have with the scoring today. Some corps are so focused on being "art", and when the judging community determines that the value/score is very high, and some fans disagree, bingo, we have a problem. So, I guess my proposal is: non traditional groups are not scored. They are exhibition only. This would be fine with me, since i stopped staying for the scores at shows a long time ago.

In an age when everyone has a cell phone, I'm wondering if a simple "I'm running late" call to someone might have prevented this.

Great topic. Whether it's "silliness", fluff, junk, or crap, I think most people would agree that many shows includes stuff that detract from the performance and the audience's enjoyment. And it's hard to deny that it's more the norm that at a given competition, there will likely be at least one electronics SNAFU, whether balalance issues or worse. Also, I haven't purchased CDs or audio downloads in a while, but other than a few corps that actually play "songs", without voiceovers and other electronic noise, I can't imagine the appeal to purchasing CDs from this years top 12. How many of these shows are worth just listening to? Some, but not a lot. And, to be frank, I'm starting to get a little tired of the music mash up trend. Cute, clever, and even interesting for a while, but when so many are doing it, the appeal is wearing off. I'd categorize mash ups as starting to move over into the silliness category. If corps want to do something fresh and appealing, how about just playing a couple of songs with, dare I say it, melody.

Sorry, but I don't see that corps designed their shows differently this year, as MC alludes. And I get the feeling that many people didn't see changes in the judging /scoring.

Not seeing the join free link. Where is it? Or is this only free for subscribers? (I'm not a subscriber)