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plugcatcher

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  1. I'm pretty sure it's Bobby Dodd Stadium on the campus of Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia. DCI South was held there in 1985. Hope this helps.
  2. I was waiting for someone to mention this one. This is BY FAR the greatest chord ever. Nothing else comes close. This is the best moment in a show played by one of the greatest hornlines ever. I get chills thinking about it, too. And whenever I listen to that show, I have to rewind it 3 or 4 times right there & listen to it over & over again. Perfection. Somebody's probably gonna mention Spirit of Atlanta's early '80s hornlines, but they don't come close. My list looks like this: 1. Star of Indiana (3:49-3:52) End of list. End of discussion. Have a nice day.
  3. I think it's amazing how, only a few years ago, we were begging & pleading to get Finals on ESPN. Now we've got it, and we're STILL whining about how it's not good enough! The ESPN deal is, as someone else said, a marketing tool for the masses. It's something to promote the activity -- not a comprehensive archive of the week's events for us "junkies" to watch. I happen to appreciate what they're doing on the broadcast, and I wouldn't change a thing. I think it's exactly what the activity needs. On the other hand, I still buy all of the DVDs every year so I can watch the shows in full. We DO have the best of both worlds right now. We have an excellent INTERNATIONAL marketing tool on ESPN, putting our product in front of many, many more people than PBS ever could. We also have a complete selection of championship week recordings available to purchase, if we wish to watch the shows in their entirety. Getting into shows ain't free, and the viewing of the shows on TV shouldn't be, either. I think we're incredibly fortunate to have the multitude of options that are present today, and I for one have no problem with purchasing the DVDs AND watching the broadcast. I guess what I'm trying to say is: Buy the DVDs, and stop whining about the broadcast not being good enough. Have a nice day.
  4. I dunno. That could be true. But it seemed to me that they (Cadets) fixed the problem by doing whatever they did with their own equipment. In any case, it is a prime example of amps/power issues, etc. ruining a show before it even started. By the time they finally got going, most of the people I observed were already disinterested. And it still doesn't explain why they didn't get a penalty. They chose to delay the start of their program because of the power issue. No one told them they had to wait. Not trying to stir the pot, just making an observation.
  5. 7/26 -- Wichita, KS Weather -- Hot, with a steady wind Location -- Cessna Stadium at Wichita St. Univ. -- This is a nice stadium for drum corps. Plenty of concert-side seating, high enough to read drill. My seat was on the 45, about halfway up (30 rows or so). I originally purchased a ticket directly on the 50 yard line, just as I did last year. But for the second year in a row, the stupid field was not lined correctly, and those of us that thought we were getting excellent 50 yard line seats were actually only getting very good 45 yard line seats. This is the second year in a row this has happened. Not a huge deal, but if they're lining the field just for the competition, it shouldn't be hard to fix. On to the show..... Div. II -- First place -- Colt Cadets -- 57.1 What can I say? They're young. They had a cute show, themed around a robbery/heist of some kind. They played Secret Agent Man, 007 Theme, Dragnet, Charlie's Angels, and some other detective-themed music. The show told the story of a robbery, the search for the perpetrator, and the capture. It was nicely done, and actually quite entertaining. It was refreshing to see a smaller corps put an entertaining show on the field, instead of attempting something way over their heads. For a cadet corps, they are huge this year. I don't recall the numbers in the hornline, but they're probably marching 30-something horns. And I was impressed that the drumline is being taught how to play all the instruments in the battery. After one song, they all put their drums down, traded with someone else, and continued on with the rest of the show on their new instrument. I like to see that some corps are still interested in teaching kids how to play. I also enjoyed seeing the little tiny guard member out there spinning with all the bigger kids. This girl wasn't much bigger than my almost-6-year old, but she was out there doing it. Impressive. The crowd loved these guys, and they got a huge standing ovation. Keep it up. Div. I -- 7th place -- Pioneer -- 67.75 Whenever I see Pioneer enter the field, I think, "Ugh, more Irish music this year." Well, yes, they're playing "Irish" music again, but it has more of a symphonic feel to it this year, so it's not as overbearing as in years past. Their hornline is 30-ish in size, but they put out a decent sound. I was impressed with the drumline (I'm a drummer), especially the snares, who had very uniform technique. Their book isn't the most difficult, but they play it very well. They actually beat Southwind in drums tonight (more on them later), which did not surprise me at all. And in a daring display of "You came to see a show, so we're going to give you your money's worth," they trooped the stands, AND the entire corps played as they did it. Very nice. (As a sidenote, actually ALL of the corps, except one, trooped the stands tonight. The one that didn't just walked off the field.......pink tables in hand.) 6th place -- Esperanza -- 69.75 Esperanza played some seriously never-heard-of-before music, and they played it well, and....and.....and....(yawn...) ......Well, I just didn't get it, I guess. They were okay, but I just didn't get it. Another 30-ish person hornline, with a full-sized drumline. They played well, but the show just didn't draw me in. Oh yeah, and these guys have some of the most uninspiring uniforms in DCI. That's not meant to be an insult, but the uniforms just look kind of "blah" out on the field. 5th place -- Southwind -- 74.4 I like Southwind. I really do. They have a very interesting show this year, with a very eclectic mix of music. Firebird, In the Spring, Pie Jesu, Jekyll and Hyde......It's really a very nice show. The dual uniforms are really used to great effect. I loved the interaction between the two different sides. They play their show very aggressively, and it's really very entertaining. BUT... What is the deal with the drum arranging? I'm not one to knock someone's hard work, or to criticize something that someone spent hours arranging and countless days and weeks teaching and rehearsing. But come on, what's the deal with a drum beat/break during Claire de Lune? That has to be one of the most beautiful pieces ever composed, and you go & throw a drum beat in it? Whaaaaaaaaattt??? I'm sure it has something to do with the "Duality" theme of the show, but it just totally ruins the beauty of the piece. And maybe they were having an "off" night, but the drum book is very difficult to read. The snare line has hi-hats mounted on their drums, and the bass drums have cymbals mounted on their rims, and the whole thing just sounds really muddy and unreadable when they start playing. Especially during the "Jeremiah" segment, the writing was extremely hard to follow. Like I said, maybe it was a bad show, maybe it's just a clarity issue they need to work on, I don't know. But I truly do believe that the drum arranging, most notably the hi-hat & cymbal work, is holding their percussion score way back. They seem very capable, but I think the "toys" are hurting them. Overall, I love the show, but the drum book needs watered. 4th place -- Capital Regiment -- 77.6 I said it before & I'll say it again, it sounds like Casella had a big influence in this drumline. The on-field warmup is totally SCV (possibly Gusseck, though), they have the snare tilt going on, the writing sounds the same......I dunno. I really enjoyed the drumline. They're playing an ambitious book, and they're pulling it off fairly well. Good hands, good beats. The show is quite entertaining, as well. The theme is "Work, Rest & Play". They dedicate each segment of the show to one of those actions, and the result is a lot of fun to watch. The hornline can put out some sound, which was kind of muffled tonight due to the strong winds, but it was nice to hear. It was also fun to see the frisbee toss again from a horn player (?) to a quad drummer. This time, he caught it. Dead-on throw. (Last time I saw it, the frisbee sailed too high.) Nice to see corps having fun, and the audience ate it up, too. I really think this corps should be beating the Blue Stars at this point, and with some work, may give the Colts a run for their money. 3rd place -- Blue Stars -- 77.85 This is the third time I've seen the Blue Stars this year, and I like them a lot. Their "Freedom" show is fun, and makes heavy use of vocals, both unamplified & not. I'm not a big fan of narration, so I'm not going to criticize them for that. But I will say that I saw the show earlier this year without it, and it worked fine for me then. I do enjoy some of the singing during the show, especially the ripple effect they create as the hornline goes from playing a chord to singing it. Very nice. The Simple Gifts singing was done very nicely, but I've seen Blast do the exact same thing for years, so the effect just didn't work for me. It'll be interesting to see if they can keep up with CapReg these last few weeks. 2nd place -- The Cadets -- 89.7 This is my second time viewing the Cadets' show this year, and like the first, I didn't hate it. I actually kinda liked it again, but not as much as the first time I saw it. The Cadets have changed their opener, and I believe tonight was the first performance of the new music. The show still opens with the drill from last year. But now there's narration--very similar to last year's script (possibly identical, I don't remember). The hornline plays a Twilight Zone tag, and launches into something that very closely resembles last year's opening musical statement. It all ends with Dani back at the door, ready to go into it. No more singing during the silent drill---heck, no more silent drill, which for me is kind of sad. As much as I don't like the singing, I found that it nicely brought the beginning of this show up to speed with last year's show. It was a nice segueway. Not anymore. The rest of the show played out as it has all season. Horns, drumming, talking, singing, doors, scantily-clad guard members, etc. etc. etc. (BTW, I could have sworn that the Red Queen had a.......hmmm.........embarassing costume mishap when I saw them last week. You see, she's quite active in the very revealing outfit, and it seemed to me that.......well, I'll just say that it looked like she had to make a major adjustment mid-stride. Maybe I was seeing things, I don't know.) The new changes to the closer seem to help the staging of the mirror image sequence with Dani & Alice, but musically, I don't know if it helped or not. I will say that they need to figure out a better way to hide Dani in the mirror at the very end, because what they're doing now just isn't working. You can still totally see her right up until she pops out of the door. Maybe they're working on it. The hornline sounds very BIG in parts of the show, but I think it comes at a price. Quality is lost in some passages because of this. And the drumline again had some serious cleanliness issues in some parts. On the other hand, some sections of this show really smoke. But I don't know if it's going to be enough for them to make a serious move. Oh yeah, one more thing. I have NO IDEA how the Cadets were not assessed an overtime penalty tonight. Through absolutely no fault of the kids on the field, the PA system would not cooperate before the start of their show. There were 4 or 5 people (including Hopkins) trying to figure out what was going on, and nothing was working. This went on for probably 6-7 minutes, with the corps just standing there waiting to play. Enough time elapsed that the very, VERY polite and patient midwestern crowd started stomping & clapping, trying to egg them on. People were actually doing the wave, waiting for them to get the problem fixed. I heard people shout, "We don't want the amps!" and "Leave them off!" and "Drums and bugles only!" while they were fumbling around down on the track. It was actually quite comical. But the most interesting thing was that there was never any indication from anyone on the Cadets staff that they were just going to go on without the amps. No matter how long we waited, they were using those amps. In the end, it all got fixed, and the show went off without another hitch. But I still have no idea how they managed to not get assessed a penalty. And once again, the audience was silent at the end of the show, clapped politely for a few seconds (maybe 10), then quit. Weird. Oh yeah, and they didn't troop the stands. Boo. 1st place -- Phantom Regiment -- 91.05 This crowd LOVED the Regiment. And for good reason. This isn't as flashy a show as Cavies, and its themes aren't as well-known as BD, but this is a serious title contender. PR is playing their butts off. The hornline is ripping through an incredibly difficult book, and the drumline......wow. I can honestly say that this is the best drumline they've had since I can remember. Plug this drumline into '89's corps, and the 1989 championship would've been theirs. And no, there aren't any huge "wow" moments in the drill, but it is a very respectable visual program, and I don't see it being a hindrance to their title chances. Having seen Cavies a week ago, I would say that this PR show is every bit as good as the one Cavies are putting on the field right now. And I totally think it has more room to grow right now. It's not a two-way race for the title this year. Phantom is right in the thick of it, and should be considered a major contender. The crowd went crazy after Phantom was done, and continued to throw babies as the corps not only trooped the stands, but played a cadence too! See, it's the simple things that make people happy. I wish the DCI Board of Directors would get a clue and stop yanking the last vestiges of tradition we have in this activity. Pioneer & Phantom get major kudos from me for giving the fans what they want. I always enjoy coming to Wichita for this show. They do a very good job of running it, and seem to have a well-informed staff. They even had Brandt Crocker on hand tonight to read the scores. Nice. That concludes my drum corps viewing for the summer. I may partake in the Quarterfinals broadcast in the theaters, though. Of those that went last year, was it worth it? Hope you enjoyed reading,
  6. At the Wichita, KS show last night, the Cadets unveiled their new opener. <scratch that> At the Wichita, KS show last night, the Cadets unveiled the opener that they'll likely be using for the rest of the year. There, that's better. My first mistake was telling you that the "new" opener was actually "new". It isn't. Gone is the singing w/ the pit accompaniment, and the silent drill. Making a return this year is the narration. I don't remember if it is exactly the same as last year, but it's very close. Also returning is the Twilight Zone music, and much of the opening musical statement from last year. IIRC, this is all done to the same drill they've been using all year, ending with Dani back at the door, ready to ring the doorbell--but this year she doesn't ring the doorbell. From there, the show seems to be unchanged. Personally, I don't care much for the new opener. While I don't care for singing, I felt that the previous opener tied the two shows together nicely. Last year's closing drill, with the "history repeating" being sung at the same time, really told you what was going on. This opening just makes the show feel like some kind of a remake of last year, not a continuation. Oh yeah, and I'm not sure if they'll be performing this at every show, but the 6-7 minute "silent park & blow" at the very beginning of the show was executed brilliantly. It seems that now the very beginning of the show consists of a 6-7 minute silent standstill concert number while the soundboard operator (and about 5 other people) fumbles around with the PA, trying to get it to work. The execution in this part of the show was flawless. And everyone knows about the "Vanguard" yell, right? Well now, the Cadets have their own version during this part. It seems that the audience now yells random things like, "We don't want the PA!" and "Drums and bugles only!" during this section. I think it'll really add to their GE scores. And since they don't seem to be getting penalized for taking an extra 6-7 minutes, they should have no problem keeping this in the show. ^0^ That is all.
  7. Actually, I'm not quite sure how you calculated, but....... Giving 25 pts. to first place, and so on, while still giving points to corps finishing outside of the top twelve (13th place gets 13 pts., 14th gets 12...), the results actually come out quite different. SCV - 768 Blue Devils - 752 Cavaliers - 696 Cadets - 693 Phantom - 686 Madison - 678 If a corps finished out of the top 12, I looked at their highest prelims or semis placement. In other words, what was their highest placement at their last show of the year? The only corps that was not given a score for any particular year were the Blue Devils, who did not compete in DCI in 1972. Every other corps was represented in the top 25 every year. I didn't calculate every other corps on my original list in this manner. That would take quite some time. I do, however, have each decade broken down (with my original calculations), and will post that later, if anyone is interested.
  8. You're right, it would be nice to find a way to factor in all the pre-DCI years. But, as you said, with no "unified" championship, it would be nearly impossible to find a fair way of doing this. Besides, most all of the pre-DCI era corps are gone now anyway, and those that do remain are fairly well represented in this list. Even if you took into account the pre-DCI years, I think you would still find mostly the same corps at the top, with Cavies' & Cadets' prior championships being most notable & making the most impact on placement.
  9. You are absolutely correct. If that's the only mistake I made, I would be amazed.
  10. Ever wonder who would win the all-time top 12? From another thread: A27Lancer wrote: "A question that I'm too lazy to research right now: What is the LOWEST position they have finished since they first made DCI finals? Who, besides Blue Devils, have consistently finished better? In other words, give 12 points for a first place finish in finals, 11 for second place, and so on down to 1 point for 12th. Since 1971, how do the corps rate? It might not mean a heck of a lot, but if someone has the time, it might be fun to see how all the finalists through out history stack up. (No fair giving points to a corps that was disqualified. Treat ties independantly - both corps score the same amount of points." ------ So, I took the liberty of finding this very thing out. I totaled every finalist corps' placement every year since DCI began, through 2005. First place got 12 points, 2nd got 11, and so on. I only calculated FINALIST corps, so if a corps didn't make finals that year, they got no points. The results are interesting. In 12th place, with a score of 52....... We have a tie. The Bridgemen and the Glassmen The Bridgemen could've gotten 10 more points for the 1977 disqualification, but the original rules stated no points for disqualifications. So I didn't add it in. But it wouldn't have bumped them up a place anyway. Moot point. Glassmen's surge in the late '90s helped them gain position quickly. In 11th place, with a score of 70............we have another tie. Spirit of JSU/Atlanta and Star of Indiana Although Star does not have the lowest point total for a champion (Kingsmen 29), they are the lowest in the top 12. Spirit's absence through most of the '90s kept them from placing higher. In 9th place, with a score of 76....... The Bluecoats Blooo broke into finals in '87 and has stayed put ever since. Nice consistency, and they're sure to move up in future years at their current pace. In 8th place, with a score of 87........ 27th Lancers 2-7 made the cut, with only 12 trips to finals. Impressive. In 7th place, with a score of 99..... The Crossmen With a strong showing through the '90s, the Crossmen are on the edge of the elite. They are the highest scoring corps (in this list) without a title. In 6th place, with a score of 238..... The Madison Scouts The Scouts' two titles, plus their consistency in making finals (except for two years), has put them solidly in the top six. It will be quite some time before anyone comes knocking on this placement. In 5th place, with a score of 255..... The Phantom Regiment Phantom's remarkable string of 2nd place finishes (77-79), plus their title in '96 put them here. They've finished 2nd four times, and 3rd four more times. They've also been in every finals since '74 (their first). In 4th place, with a score of 259.... The Cavaliers It's amazing that with SIX titles, the Cavaliers are only 4 points above Regiment. Cavies didn't really hit their stride until '86, when they finished third. They would go on to finish 3rd four times, and 2nd place four times as well. In 3rd place, with a score of 266.... The Cadets Cadets have won NINE titles...........NINE!!!.......and are still only 11 points above Phantom. Granted, Cadets didn't make any serious noise in Finals until the early '80s. But since then, they've been on fire. Five 2nd place finishes, and four 3rds put them in 3rd place here, by the skin of their teeth. 3rd through 5th places are surprisingly tight. In 2nd place, with a score of 326.... The Santa Clara Vanguard Vanguard has won DCI six times, placed 2nd six times, and 3rd eight more times. Oh yeah, they're also the only corps to appear in every DCI final.......EVER. There are two corps with more titles, but SCV's consistency is amazing. Arguably the greatest corps ever, by these standards. And our champion, with a score of 334.... The Blue Devils BD squeaks out the title here by the slimmest of margins, beating SCV by only eight points. With eleven titles to their credit, the Devils are masters at winning championships. They've also been 2nd six times. That means that out of the 34 DCI finals that have been held, the Blue Devils have held their breath as the last two scores were announced....17 times. Wow. For me, this was a very interesting way of looking at corps' placements historically. I found it very interesting to see the totals so close between certain corps. It will be interesting to see how these positions change in a few weeks. The rest of the placements are as follows: 49 Blue Stars 45 Blue Knights 39 Boston Crusaders 39 Suncoast Sound 35 Troopers 30 Carolina Crown 30 Freelancers 30 Kilties 29 Kingsmen 23 Velvet Knights 17 Muchachos 15 Magic of Orlando 12 Oakland Crusaders 11 Colts 11 Sky Ryders 10 Argonne Rebels 10 Guardsmen 9 North Star 7 Seneca Optimists 6 DeLaSalle Oaklands 6 Des Plaines Vanguard 4 Royal Crusaders 3 Black Knights 3 Purple Lancers 1 Bleu Raiders 1 Commodores 1 Dutch Boy 1 Seattle Cascades ------------ Sorry for the long post. I hope everyone enjoyed it.
  11. Phantom placed 11th their first year in Finals (1974). They have not finished lower since then. As far as who has consistently finished better, there are four corps. Cavaliers, Cadets, SCV, and Blue Devils all have higher aggregate finals placements. I will be posting complete finals results later. Hope this helps.
  12. Wrong. SCV has won 6 DCI championships, just as many as the Cavaliers. SCV -- 73, 74, 78, 81, 89, 99 Cavies -- 92, 95, 00, 01, 02, 04
  13. 7/18 - Pittsburg, KS Weather: Freaking HOT. My thermometer was reading 102 F. The show had been promoted with a 7pm start time. Arriving at the stadium (after a 2 hour drive), I see signs posted everywhere saying that the show organizers have decided to delay the show until 8pm, presumably to alleviate the heat for the first part of the show. Guess what? It's still hot, and now we're waiting--in the heat--an extra hour for the show to start. I don't know if it was the smartest move, since we all waited in the heat anyway. But I didn't hear anyone complaining, so I guess it worked out okay. My thoughts on the corps: Blue Stars -- 6th place -- 75.55 The Blue Stars have added narration to their show since I saw them a few weeks ago. Something about freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of.........blah, blah, blah. I don't know if it added anything to their show, but as narration goes, it wasn't totally offensive, either. It just didn't do anything for me. The corps is performing their show nicely. It's made up of a lot of familiar music: Simple Gifts, America the Beautiful, etc. This is probably the best corps the Blue Stars have had in a long time, but I don't see them making finals. If they clean up some ensemble issues, they should be a lock for Semis. Capital Regiment -- 7th place -- 73.20 I honestly don't remember much about CapReg's show, except that on first read, it was hard for me to follow. I didn't connect with the music at all. At times the arrangements were hard to follow, especially in the battery. They're playing a very ambitious book, which sounds an awful lot like Casella's work (is he arranging for them?). They weren't bad, but I just didn't get into the show. Colts -- 5th place -- 77.85 I absolutely love the Colts this year. They have a nice, big sound, and their show grabs you with some familiar melodies. Of the first four corps tonight, they were the only corps that I felt was really locked in ensemble-wise. I found myself watching their very competent guard numerous times, which is unusual for this drum guy. I just wish there was more space in the top 12 for them, because I think that any other year, this show would be a lock for finals. This year, I see it in 13-14th place. INTERMISSION -- Do we really need a break after three corps? Blue Knights -- 4th place -- 81.80 The Blue Knights are good across the board this year. They'll be a lock for finals. I just wish they played more. This show is very heavy on pit--the horn book seems like an afterthought at times. When they do play, they are good. I just wish they had more meat to work with. As usual, their silks are beautiful. I wonder if they still have them hand-painted like in years past? Good show--I see them in 10th place this year. Santa Clara Vanguard -- 3rd place -- 82.70 Are you kidding me? This show is freakin' great! From the opening hit, this show never stops. I do not understand why they are scoring nearly 4 points below the Cadets. There is dirt to be cleaned, but this show has potential out the wazoo. This is sure to be another underappreciated Vanguard show, which is sad because I really feel that this is a great vehicle for them. The visual design is top-notch, which surprised me, knowing that Rosander was gone this year. I don't know who's writing their drill, but I like it a lot. There are some sets that aren't quite gelling yet, but give them a couple weeks. They now truly have something moving at all times, fulfilling their show title. And the tag on the ending is very tasty, too. I love how the cymbals do their "V" as the corps does their crazy file-off behind them. Classic. This is definitely my favorite show of the year, and I would love to see them make a late surge heading into Madison. I see them anywhere between 6th-8th place. Cavaliers -- 1st place -- 88.40 Look out. The Green Machine is coming. The Cavaliers are cleaning up their "Machine" show and adding little touches that really enhance the theme. I was not expecting them to be this good, after seeing them earlier this year, but.......dang. If I were the Blue Devils, I'd be looking over my shoulder. I wouldn't be surprised to see this show taking the title this year, at the rate they're going. Their drill has cleaned up very nicely, and at this rate it should be spotless in a month. Jim Casella has done something with the drumline that I've never witnessed before. After making his mark and establishing his "sound" with SCV, he went to the Cavies and wrote a drum book that manages to sound like a classic Cavaliers arrangement, with his own style incorporated seamlessly. It is so distinctive in both respects, that if you took the uniforms off the drumline, a drum person could tell that they were the Cavaliers, and that Casella was the arranger. The man is a genius. My only complaint with this show is the ending. It seems very abrupt, and doesn't quite establish itself before it's over. I'm sure they're working on a new one as we speak, and will have it in place shortly. The Cadets -- 2nd place -- 86.45 Where do I start? Two very strange things happened with this show tonight. As they were coming onto the field, I was observing all the props, listening to the mic checks (a mic check in a drum corps show? wow), and telling myself that I was going to hate this show. There was no way I'd like it. Everything the Cadets were doing to change this activity went against everything I held dear to my heart, and there was no way I was going to like their show. I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, I didn't love their show. But it wasn't the worst thing I've seen on a football field, either. I found myself not really offended by any of the singing/talking (although I would prefer to do without it). I didn't care for the props too much, but I didn't hate them, either. As much as they tried to offend my sensibilities and insult my definition of drum corps, in the end I was neither offended nor insulted. Is their show "out there"? Yes. Is it for everyone? No, definitely not. But it's not nearly as bad as what some people are making it out to be. My biggest complaint was that those darned pink tables squeak and creak every time the get moved, and that gets distracting. The Cadets can play (very well), and they can march pretty good, too. I don't think this is one of their strongest horn lines, by far. The sopranos/trumpets sounded a little thin at times. Their drums are obviously very talented, but tonight there were a couple VERY exposed passages that just weren't that clean (actually, they were pretty ugly). Definitely not as awe-inspiring as some have suggested. Frankly, I was a little disappointed with the execution of their show. But the show itself is entertaining, right up to the end.....which brings me to the second weird thing that happened. As the Cadets finished their show, and Danni comes out of the door for the last time, they played the last note and.....there was silence. No one clapped. Not a soul. There was complete silence. <cue crickets chirping> It was what you'd call an awkward silence. And I really don't think it was an "Is it over?" silence. I just think people were a) dumbstruck, or B) not wanting to clap because they weren't really sure if they liked it or not. It was the strangest reaction I've ever seen to the end of a show. It was almost as if, after all the "traditional" shows the audience had just seen, the Cadets' assault on their senses just overwhelmed them. And then, as the audience finally did start to applaud, they only gave polite "golf" claps, and it didn't last long. Weird. Anyway, the Cadets were pretty good in my book, even though it wasn't exactly my cup of tea (pun intended). I see them anywhere from 2nd-5th at Finals. Overall, a great show in a nice venue. I'd like to see a show here again next year.
  14. Cadets had some VERY exposed dirt tonight (as did Cavies, but not quite as bad). Although Cadets' drums are very good, I was not nearly as impressed tonight as some people on DCP have been this season. It was really not a surprise to me that Cavies won drums tonight. I was actually expecting a little bigger spread.
  15. Actually, this isn't Lincoln's first drum corps show. IIRC, there was a show in Lincoln from about 88-91. In fact, the very first show I marched in '91 was in Lincoln, at Seacrest Field.
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