PeeWee

Thank you for your review. I haven't seen a corps performance live since July 4th (Pasadena), so I have to live vicariously through those of you who write reviews on here, at least until I hit Indy next week. I agree with the assessments I've read in this forum about BD and Cavies this year. Their shows just don't "grab" me. I honestly think Holy Name Cadets (good name for their 75th Anniversary) have the energy and demand to take it all this year! I can't find a weak or boring part in their show. I love SCV, of course, but just don't think their repertoire has the "energy" of Cadets. I also love the Bluecoats this year! I don't understand why they're scoring so low, but...that's probably why I wouldn't make a good DCI judge. Audience appeal goes a long way with me, and Bluecoats have it! Good luck to all corps in Indianapolis next week! And thanks again for the reviews. :-)

That's what I find so sad...that just because a corps is clean means they win. I mean, where's the emotional impact? Where are the fans jumping up out of their seats to proclaim their winner? Number 13 for the Blue crew?? ...<sigh>...<golf clap> Personally, I'd like Holy Name Cadets to win this year

Yes, great review! Very positive and unbiased. Thank you. I've only seen the corps live out here in California thus far (BD, SCV, Bluecoats). I've watched the rest from online (Cadets, Crown, Cavaliers). Out of the current Top 6, I'd have to say the most entertaining shows for me right now are - 1st) Holy Name Cadets (I'm having flashbacks to 2007 - Wow!), 2nd) Bluecoats (I don't care where they place, I like this show...a lot!), 3rd) Santa Clara Vanguard (although, having marched the late '80s, I'm having MAJOR, MAJOR flashbacks to Cadets 1987) Blue Devils and Cavaliers are relatively clean, as always, but as far as audience appeal their shows just don't do anything for me. They're kind of flat (...to me). Carolina Crown this year reminds me of Star of Indiana from the 1990s. In particular Stars' Medea show from 1993. My hopes for Indianapolis: 1st - Holy Name Cadets 2nd - Santa Clara Vanguard (slight bias here) 3rd - Carolina Crown But regardless, I'll enjoy this year at DCI just as much as last year. What a great Top 12 we had last year! So entertaining!

Thanks for another great review! Very unbiased (well, but my "hope" remains the same as yours :-))

Thanks for the review. I was there too, with the other SCV '89 alums. I agree that BD is looking at another championship with this show. From what I read online, their only obstacles right now? Cadets and Cavies. I LOVE the sound coming out of SCV this year too! But also agree that the drill isn't very challenging...right now. I hope that changes. If it does, can SCV make a run for the top? You bet! On a side note, it was great getting to see come of my corps mates from SCV 1989, and equally great to have the 2009 corps serenade us with "Music of the Night" and "Send in the Clowns". Not a dry eye Vanguard. Thank you. Vanguard has a spirit and flame that lives in every member who ever marched.

Well gang, regarding SCV 2009 and Cadets 1987, honestly, SCVs show kept giving me flashbacks to Garfield '87. Seriously! I was half expecting SCVs company front to "dissolve" and then reappear. The sound, of course, is much, much better - even though SCV is augmenting their sound with a synthesizer this year.

JERSEY SURF!!! Endless Summer shirt with a drum, flag, and brass instead of surfboards. Hands down, #1 in my book 2COOLJERSEYSURF

YES!!! I agree. Regardless of who the corps director is (and I respect Pearson and all he's accomplished), please get back to the entertaining, standing ovation shows that corps like Blue Stars, Glassmen, Bluecoats, Carolina Crown, and Phantom Regiment did in '08. I would love nothing more than to see the crowd on their feet, yelling, throughout a Vanguard performance! I feel the most crowd pleasing show they've had this decade was 2004. I heard (I wasn't there) that Finals 2005 was pretty awesome too. Aside from those, their greatest crowd response was this past summer. BRING BACK THE MAGIC!!! 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1991 (missed most of the 90s, sorry) 2004

I think if you look at the latest Vanguard video on Fan Network you can hear a couple of people do the "Vanguard!" yell in the closer. My only complaint is that they don't write it in during the start of the season. It doesn't give the fans much time to learn it. I kind of feel like the staff didn't want it in their show this year, hence why they added it so late. But honestly, the only times the audience gets to yell for a corps in unison is during the "Vanguard!" yell. Other than that, we all yell "blooo" for Bluecoats and that's about it. No other yells for corps where you KNOW what to yell. Know what I mean?

I gave a little love to the Bluecoats. I don't think they're getting enough recognition for another outstanding show! It's entertaining, it's a theme the audience can understand, and all of their captions are performing awesomely! Plus, as far as drill goes, I'd rank 2008: #1 The Cavaliers #2 Santa Clara Vanguard #3 Bluecoats Nobody ever seems to talk about Bluecoats drill, but I think it's very effective.

I'd be willing to spend just under $200 for a great set of drum corps HD DVDs! btw - for those of you who bought HD DVD players already - you were a little premature. You should have waited until the "Betamax vs. VHS" war was decided. And for those of you who don't think HD is worth it, my question is, do you currently have an HD television and watch anything HD on it? I've been watching cable in HD for years now and I won't even watch the non-HD channels anymore. Plus, I hate how fuzzy my old DVDs look compared to HD, so I'd definitely invest in some Bluray DVDs for one of my favorite passions - Drum Corps!

Uuummm... are you SERIOUS?! Nice ties in your column though. Thanks for the entertainment

I kind of feel the same way - the morale of the kids is low due to so many late starts and "watering down" their show. I even sent an e-mail to the corps with this theme in mind. It was, for the most part, disregarded. They just don't seem to have much motivation. Someone, ANYONE, involved with their staff needs to light a fire underneath these kids! I really miss Myron Rosander for that. He, IMO, portrays the "Spirit of the Vanguard" better than anyone else since Royers' passing. Yes, the Vanguard organization is (as far as I know) as strong as it's ever been. The corps and organization will not "fold". And success does draw new talent into the organization, so let's hope Vanguard only gets more and more successful each year!

Thank you so much for your unbaised review! At least, I think it was unbiased... btw - I think it's "Bluecoats" (one word), not "Blue Coats"

While I agree that what you termed public displays of affection are not appropriate for public, I wouldn't say that straight couples, or girls with other girls, don't so similar things. A girl grabbing another girls' breasts, a guy grabbing a girls' bottom, etc. These are all inappropriate. For the record, I have never ever grabbed another guy in the crotch in public, nor will I ever. Gay or straight, it's not appropriate.

Wow! Well, my prediction: 1st - Blue Devils 2nd - Cavaliers 3rd - Cadets 4th - Carolina Crown 5th - Phantom Regiment 6th - Santa Clara Vanguard 7th - Bluecoats 8th - Blue Knights I'm not too sure about 3rd - 5th though. Those guys could mix it up a bit based on performance levels.

To answer your original post (or a portion thereof), openly gay is acceptable in the drum corps community in most circumstances. On level of ease within a group, I'd say colorguard, then brass, then drums. Meaning it's probably easier to be openly gay in the colorguard section, and most difficult in the battery section in particular. I knew mostly closeted gay men when I marched, and they were in the brass and percussion sections. The corps I marched, when I marched them, had no male colorguard members. And yes, there are stereotypes that all male corps tend to have more gay males per capita. This is probably true. Gay females usually fly below the radar, so it's more difficult to tell with them I feel. As far as segregating males and females, or gays and straights, it's kind of laughable! When you can sit together all night on a bus with a blanket over your heads, it makes little difference where you sleep on the floor. Attracted couples will "migrate" together. And yes, many relationships began in the drum corps community. So long as those involved are 18 years of age, and so long as the attractions and desires are mutual, I don't have a problem with it. They're legally adults, they should be able to take care of, and be responsible for, themselves.

I agree with your views on music. I too find BD and Cavies fairly boring/monotonous this year. Crown, of course, is very recognizable. Phantom is powerful. I haven't been paying too much attention to Cadets music (sorry, but I've been focused on drill and distracted by monologue), and SCV has a good variety/mix. I think Bluecoats should probably be added to the list too.

You mean, actually entertain the audience?! Heaven forbid that should happen! I agree, if you EVER, EVER want to get more people interested as spectators in the drum corps activity, you've GOT to field shows that appeal to more than just the elite outdoor pagentry audience.

I agree with the "West Coast style" regional tours for the first part of the season. I also agree with the Thursday - Sunday larger shows, which is what the West Coast already has for the most part. I don't think where the members reside from is the factor. I think that travelling "as a corps" is the issue. Corps already feed & house the members during "all days" as is. But they'd travel less as a corps if they could stay in one place Monday - Wednesday or Monday - Thursday. In fact, they could proabably start "all days" later since they would have more rehearsal time on tour.

Yes, this post answers the original posters' best to date. Thank you I got the same thing from their opener - Mind = hectic day at work. Kind of like their Metropolis theme a few years back.

I think new endings can help in the way of GE, but can hurt in performance, so it evens out. I remember BDs new ending to their Train show this decade, and I enjoyed it. It didn't cahnge more than 30 seconds of their show though. Just for the record, it doesn't hurt your chances of winning. We had a new ending made only for Finals night in 1989. It changed about...the final 15 seconds of our show. We use to collapse to the ground with the phantom tarp, but for Finals we "imploded" it, brought out two black tunnels, and then ran off the field with the tarp and collapsed the tunnels. I was a phantom tarp operator, so I'm pretty sure I remember it correctly.

Well, they didn't publish actual numbers for the exhibition at the Rose Bowl on July 4th, but prior years without the drum corps crowd they had 30,000. With the drum corps crowd and reserved DCI section, I'd say we probably had about 35,000. Source: http://connect.pasadena.com/events/event/s...41728:Event:894 2007 Pasadena, CA World Championships: “More than 50,000 tickets were sold for 2007 Championship Week events. Including those with VIP guest credentials, as well as our corporate partners, members of the media and non-competing corps members, more than 30,000 people enjoyed the World Championship Finals live in the Rose Bowl Stadium on Aug. 11,” said Kristy Holst, ticketing manager for Drum Corps International. “In terms of total attendance, this year’s Pasadena crowd surpasses any audience we’ve had since 1990 in Buffalo, N.Y.” Source: http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=1...2a-d4e124545486

I found it heart-warming that you describe it as "magical". After all, SCV has been pretty good at that. It does take some coordination to pull a dress over your head and then "spin" it down your body. I don't know that Myron has actually been with the corps. I haven't heard much about him, but I believe he's very ill. The dress idea probably came from Dave Meikle and his staff.

There's A LOT to be said for performance level. Well done for being the best at it BD!