Medeabrass Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Yes...and no.I thought it was an interesting parallel to the entertainment argument we see here a lot; so I was trying to relate what is seen as one of the most popular shows in drum corps history (that also happened to win) to now regarding playing to the fans/judges. I'm not asking for a analysis of the show from a "historical" perspective, but from a entertainment and appeal standpoint, in relation to current trends. Yes...quick...make some references to today before it gets moved... Man, I wish more shows TODAY were more like '89 SCV. That should do it for a little while anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummergirl Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Could one say that some of the reasons that Crown's 07 show is such a fan favorite are some of the very same reasons that SCV 88 and 89 shows are so popular? (How's that for a current connection? :P ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medeabrass Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Could one say that some of the reasons that Crown's 07 show is such a fan favorite are some of the very same reasons that SCV 88 and 89 shows are so popular?(How's that for a current connection? :P ) Good one...I think we're on to something here. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertrombone Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Thing about Andrew Lloyd Weber, (brace yourselves, SCV faithful) it's cheesy music. Even 'POTO.' But it sells on Broadway, the Broadway recordings sell, individual artists do best of ALW recordings and make a killing, so it shouldn't surprise anybody that the 'most popular' DCI show of all time is 'POTO.' Doesn't hurt that there has always been so much controversy surrounding the championship that season--drives interest. I mean, what are the odds that the #1 show/corps of all time beats the #2 show/corps of all time head-to-head, face-to-face in the same season, hmm? To me, that has always been more amazing and seemingly impossible/improbably than the high score thing. Nikk did a paper on DCI scoring once. Maybe he'd be so kind as to load it up for perusal. I don't remember when/where I saw it, but he mentioned that there was some scoring anomaly that year in terms of where the 100 points were distributed up to 88, in 89, and from 90 onwards. Just good timing, I guess. And it's interesting to compare the discussions recently regarding an all-time high score being set this year and the actual thing happening that night in KC so many years ago. The current argument against it being a possibility is that when you have groups competing for caption awards you get lower scores. Didn't happen in '89! And the lesson that was learned that night so many year ago was this...that you don't win championships or drums place 5th! Yikes! Although it WOULD be ironic this year to see PR place 5th overall and win high drums, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Scott Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Great question! For the people that were in Arrowhead that night, I think it had to do with trying to carry over the "magic" from the 1988 show. There was so much electricity generated from the '88 show that '89 was sure to be a hit. The staff had to analyze the tapes and sheets - listen to what was good and what was not and fix it. It was a ring on a silver platter. I fall into the category of fan who thought that 1988 was the ring year. I remember being in the stands (in uniform - with the 'rents) watching from the Bari solo to the arcs to the company front - watching the corps disappear, and the phantom appear from the back of the field and run to the tunnel. For my money, that was (and is) the most magical moment - ever - in drum corps history. (Yeh, I am nudging my way into the mid thirty something drum corps geezer). I watched Madison and from the there were 2 things that won for them that night (I'll get back to the topic at hand - and Madison homers, please don't flame me): The diagonal half-time high mark time in the concerto made the judges IMHO stand up, take notice, and put them in a visual and GE box 5, and from the bari solo to the 180 turn and high mark time at the end of Malaguena. Both shows stacked up pretty well, and the emotional connection with the audience was palpable. The Devils (as one of the greatest hornlines ever) didn't have a chance - they just couldn't grab the crowd like Madison or SCV. And as genius as the walk off was - I think there was a little bit of "didn't Garfield do that last year?" to it. IMO. That being said SCV tweaking their '88 show into the condition that it was in by finals '89, there was no way that they would be denied. Because I didn't march 89 (d'oh...) I'm not sure that anyone expected Regiment to give Vanguard such a run for their money. And the "shootout" between the two was amazing - I think that battle for the top 2 spots helped add that "something special", and posting the record score for a decade didn't hurt either. All over the road, but I hope I answered your question! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acn Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 I really like '88 so much better. I think '88 SCV, and '89 PR should have won the championship. At the time I felt that maybe SCV got the benifit of the doubt for placing second four years in a row. I was really surprised they won. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburstall Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 (edited) Thing about Andrew Lloyd Weber, (brace yourselves, SCV faithful) it's cheesy music. Even 'POTO.' But it sells on Broadway, the Broadway recordings sell, individual artists do best of ALW recordings and make a killing, so it shouldn't surprise anybody that the 'most popular' DCI show of all time is 'POTO.' I'll take cheesy music over cheesy gimmicks. :P Doesn't hurt that there has always been so much controversy surrounding the championship that season--drives interest. I mean, what are the odds that the #1 show/corps of all time beats the #2 show/corps of all time head-to-head, face-to-face in the same season, hmm? To me, that has always been more amazing and seemingly impossible/improbably than the high score thing. Us old folks know the controversy of the '89 SCV. You've read a lot of the younger members of DCP rarely talk about what happened that year and based it purely on what they heard and saw in the video. There are just some things we need to let disappear into history. Edited August 4, 2007 by sburstall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cantgetenoughcorps Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Doesn't hurt that there has always been so much controversy surrounding the championship that season--drives interest. I mean, what are the odds that the #1 show/corps of all time beats the #2 show/corps of all time head-to-head, face-to-face in the same season, hmm? To me, that has always been more amazing and seemingly impossible/improbably than the high score thing. Possibly SCV 89 could be considered for the #1 show/corps of all time, but I really don't think PR 89 could even be in consideration for #2 show/corps of all time. I think one thing about Vanguard 89 show that makes it stand out, is all the familiar music. POTO is wonderful music(some may call it cheezy), that people can sing/hum along with. You can listen to and watch that show over and over again. There was also just an feel about that show, you knew without a doubt it was going to win that night. There wasn't anything even close on the field that year(although PR and Cadets both had fantastic shows as well) It also helps to have the highest score in history(to that point in time) and to hold it for 13 years. That says something about the quality of the show. And it was also a time where people feel there were more fan friendly shows. This was definitely a fan friendly show. And where as Cavies 02, and Cadets 05 were also amazing shows, with higher scores, alot of people didn't feel these were as fan friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawker Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 So, to restate a previous question at the beginning of the thread... Musical theater is a close cousin of drum corps in its post-1983 form. Great success has came from adapting Phantom, Les Miz, City Of Angels and Miss Saigon competitively during the early and mid 90's. With that said, do you (the general you) feel that a return to musical theater....adapting some of the current crop of Broadway musicals...would make for shows that are : -fan friendly since the music is familiar? -easily adaptable due to the medium? -can score well on the sheets? Are there any newer (or older ones that never were done) musicals that could work? Why or why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusayan Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 So, to restate a previous question at the beginning of the thread...Musical theater is a close cousin of drum corps in its post-1983 form. Great success has came from adapting Phantom, Les Miz, City Of Angels and Miss Saigon competitively during the early and mid 90's. With that said, do you (the general you) feel that a return to musical theater....adapting some of the current crop of Broadway musicals...would make for shows that are : -fan friendly since the music is familiar? -easily adaptable due to the medium? -can score well on the sheets? Are there any newer (or older ones that never were done) musicals that could work? Why or why not? Disagree completely. SCV's success with Phantom of the Opera is the exception when it comes to corps doing Broadway shows, not the rule, especially if a corps wants to win. In 35 years of DCI the only other corps besides SCV to a championship with a program built around a Broadway show is the Cadets with West Side Story in 1984. The other examples you cited were not particularly successful: Cadets Les Mis: 5th place Madison City of Angels: 7th and 5th placed Madison Jesus Christ Superstar: 6th place SCV Miss Saigon: 4th place These shows might be fan friendly but history shows that if a corps wants to win, then stay away from Broadway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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