jplattSCV

Brasso asked an interesting question in another thread which got me curious. 1. What is the biggest gap between the lowest score and the highest score for a corps during a single season. I know SCV has had some pretty massive gaps between crummy opening performances and end of year surges, but I have no data. 2. What is the biggest drop in score from one performance to another for a corps in a single season?

The whole idea of top 12 was an arbitrary number based on the corps that started DCI in the first place. Seems like a top 10 for finals would be a nicer number but that would be a terrible idea now that the top 12 is so relatively strong compared to the past. It would be a shame to punish the kids of today just because there are fewer corps. One of the corps I marched with was the Sky Ryders in 1988. I seriously doubt that a show of that caliber would make it into the top 12 with today's demand and talent level. If anything I would make the semi finals a 2 night performance where the scores are averaged. They do that already with the caption awards. Why not do it with the "prelims". Just make it prelims and finals and do away with the concept of semi finals.

Fantastic responses these two are.

I thought the same thing. I would love to see some organization toward getting that yelled somewhere. Although I think the death scenes are pretty hardcore. Its definitely a bold statement.

how about "there not my mom" to complete the trifecta of improper usage.

Crown's narration didn't make me sick. Even The narration in the BD "1000 Hours" show didn't get in the way. Bluecoats narration made a very nice addition. The Cadets shows in 2005 and 2006 were certainly jarring but the vocals definitely added as I viewed them more and more. They enabled some pretty sophisticated nuance. Last year and this year even more, I felt like I was being condescended to. When I watch the Clifton show, I felt like they were trying to spoon feed emotions to me when I am perfectly capable of extracting that emotion from the music, marching and dance that accompanies it. The explanation video is even more condescending, although very slickly put together. Quality all the way, but with a message that spoon feeds the fact that I am being spoon fed. If you want to tell a complicated story, provide a libretto like you would see for a ballet. Innovative doesn't mean its better. It just means that it is new or different. I could try and sell a car with triangular shaped wheels and I could call it innovative. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/innovate

When I watched the Cadets show a few days ago, the narration simply felt like a ham handed guide for the audience. Sort of like an applause sign. Personally, I'd like to see a full fledged Velvet Knights style parody of it complete with laugh track. I honestly think that a less melodramatic version of narration would soften a lot of people's criticism of it. I can't say that I like the narration but I don't fault Cadets at all for trying something so different. Its in their nature. But, it still feels clumsy and out of place to me and makes the music feel like incidental music in a play as opposed to lyrics in a musical or opera. It is an overlay rather than an equal component. Maybe the next level of prop could be giant card board arrows that they can hold up and point to focus the audience throughout the show. look over here. Wait, now look over here. uh oh! 2 arrows at the same time! groundbreaking!

Upon re-reading what I wrote I think you're right. I should have said "A few people" instead of "Some people". The population of the rabble rouser crowd is still much smaller than the crowd of people that give credit where credit is due.

Some of this is nonsense, but unfortunately what you said above is true. I am one that doesn't like the pep talks and the constant pacing back and forth and the Mussolinni style nodding that Hoppy will do on the sideline during really impresseive chunks of the Cadets' shows. But, I also find it equally disturbing when people blurt out their issues will this for the world to hear at shows. There are some things that are better left unsaid. Just because you feel it, doesn't mean you have to say it. "Keeping it real" is just another way of saying "Keeping it rude". But, NOONE that knows anything about drum corps could disrespect Cadets. Noone disrespected Star either. They were just consistently rude about voicing a personal displeasure about what the corps did on the field. Some of those people are now back tracking like crazy and revising history so that they won't feel so bad about driving such a good corps out of the activity. Yes, I blame the fans for Star leaving, not Cook. Some people need for there to be a bad guy. Star filled this role beautifully. Now Cadets' are sinking into that role. Get used to it Cadets' fans. The fans didn't like Bill Cook and now they've decided not to like Hoppy either. Its totally unfair, but, that's just the way it gonna be.

That show is the litmus test for drum corps fans. Its like the red and blue state debate that we are about to get bombarded with from now til the election in November. People either hated Star or they loved them. I was in the loved it crowd and I can tell you for certain that I was in the vast minority. When I stood up to cheer I was like the guy with the Miami Dolphins Jersey surrounded by NY Jets fans in the TV commercial for ?????? ( I can't remember). I was a lone "Wooooo!!!" surrounded by a sea of "huuuhhhh???" And I gaurantee that everybody else that recognized what we were seeing like I did felt the same way. "keep your adoration to yourself, you heathen!" That's what I felt from everyone around me.