Favorite 27th Lancers Program

[Guardguy89]

I'm going for the less obvious years:

1983 - great show, extremely underated

1986 - I love this show (still watch it on tape). The differnce between the '85 & '86 season is astounding. The guard that year was breathtaking - although the big purple tumors on their heads were strange :P

Later,

Mike

[Lancerlady]

I'm going for the less obvious years:

1983 - great show, extremely underated

1986 - I love this show (still watch it on tape). The differnce between the '85 & '86 season is astounding. The guard that year was breathtaking - although the big purple tumors on their heads were strange :P

Later,

Mike

It was like night and day (85 and 86). The guard in 86 was coed and I watch that tape in awe of the color guard in 86. They really were incredible weren't they? The beginning of the show with all the "art" is really "wow" to me. Good stuff. Thanks for the kudos.

[keith]

I always liked 83 the best. Very underrated show IMHO. I remember watching them practice in NJ and loving every minute of it. The double dutch rocked!

I miss you 27th!

I agree an under rated show and drumline. CYO nationals that year for the corp was a breath taking show. Still remember wacthing that show from the 50 yardline at Harvard Stadium, and learning some new words when they did not win the show (SCV won)

Never liked the 86 show when I marched it, but like it now. Watching my brothers and sister march in the "good years" I always wanted to do those style shows.

[LancerLegend]

.....winning the CYO flag in '71......

I hate to inform you, we didn't win the CYO Nationals flag until 1977. Then we won it again in 1981.

The best of the best? 1971. Hands down - nothing comes close. Ike Ianessa, Jim Wedge, Jim Buckley and Mary Berkley got this corps razor sharp. Their 1971 CYO Nationals performance in Lowell's Cawley Stadium remains my fav Lancer performance - and they wound up 7th behind their cross town rivals the Boston Crusaders. A few days later, they won the World Open setting a new high score, and even after celebrating after that performance, they won the Danny Thomas Invitational the next afternoon. 1971. It put the corps on the map for everyone to respect.

The next best of the best - 1980. They were hungry and they were driven. They could perform at a very high level, and they never quit. There was constant support for each other from within the corps. It was an amazing machine to watch from up close.

I think the 1977 corps was very tight knit and faired well. We struggled early, but a new summer rehearsal schedule (on summer toured) kept us fresh and not burnt out. We worked hard to continuously improve.

Versions that were super GE corps and got the folks standing:

1975 - they rocked the world. Probably the greatest turnaround of back to back seasons in DCI history. A low scoring drumline prevented them from doing better. The Danny Boy wheel and the rifle line are eternal visual orgasms.

1981 - a great corps - they had very talented players, but I think they underperformed. At times they were on fire and ready to chase for the title, other times, they seem to sit back and take whatever they earned for a score.

The corps with the most age-outs that totally underperformed? Hands down 1978. So many long term veterans, yet their show was not written well enough for them to kick it up a notch. 1976 was also an awkward year. We were ready and we were fired up - but we hit a plateau and things suddenly were put on hold. We beat BD at DATR in Denver, but that was it.

The corps in all of the other years - worked and worked and worked but a variety of issues prevented them from getting over a hump. The issues were either staff related, section related, the dynamics of out-of-staters arriving late, the corps not being full until late June. No one ever made an excuse, and the pride of being a 27th Lancer was never in question.

[dckid80]

Thank for the insight Jim.

I always wondered why the '81 show never really felt like a contender even though I liked it so much.

[drmr27]

At the close of the 1969 season I was faced with a decision. I knew I was leaving the corps I had been with for 2 years, The Norwood Continentals (now all but completely lost to obscurity) and either taking the long hike to Revere to wear khaki and plaid or a shorter commute to Lower Mills and wear red and black. The khaki won out for two reasons: I liked the underdog staus of the 27th Lancers at that place and time and the guard wore MUCH shorter skirts.

My favorite year to march with the corps was definitely 1971, it was the pinnacle year of old school, The year that the first real concept discussions of something called DCI took place. Like Lancer Legend said; buried in mid-pack at the CYO with a killer performance then top of the heap a few nights later at World open with a performance that was almost as good. The entire year was fun and although subsequent years and shows had their moments, '71 stood out as the peak for me.

Honorable mention: 1974 was what I called 27th's "lost episode". It was a dismal year of disappointments and struggles. We hardly ever seemed to connect with an audience all year long. The first time I actually listened to any '74 recordings was about 16 or 17 years later and I noticed a couple things. The midseason show was actually a very good show and despite some performance issues it really came across as a well conceived, enjoyable show. Fast forward about a month to August and DCI prelims and it was obvious that we listened too intently to the "expert" critiques, changed major portions of the show to suit the different judging factions and in the end performed a tired and incoherent tossed salad of notes.

The alumni corps show in 1994, also known as "the most expensive 15 minutes of our entire lives" was a gas. No one to beat, nothing to prove. I went on the field with a camera to take a shot of the crowd. I wore Bullwinkle jockey shorts under my kilt and tucked a lucky clover into the ribbons on my hat. I blew a kiss to the crowd and at dawn, blindly stumbled back to my hotel room.

Edited August 26, 2007 by drmr27

[dccorpsfan]

I hate to inform you, we didn't win the CYO Nationals flag until 1977. Then we won it again in 1981.

The best of the best? 1971. Hands down - nothing comes close. Ike Ianessa, Jim Wedge, Jim Buckley and Mary Berkley got this corps razor sharp. Their 1971 CYO Nationals performance in Lowell's Cawley Stadium remains my fav Lancer performance - and they wound up 7th behind their cross town rivals the Boston Crusaders. A few days later, they won the World Open setting a new high score, and even after celebrating after that performance, they won the Danny Thomas Invitational the next afternoon. 1971. It put the corps on the map for everyone to respect.

The next best of the best - 1980. They were hungry and they were driven. They could perform at a very high level, and they never quit. There was constant support for each other from within the corps. It was an amazing machine to watch from up close.

I think the 1977 corps was very tight knit and faired well. We struggled early, but a new summer rehearsal schedule (on summer toured) kept us fresh and not burnt out. We worked hard to continuously improve.

Versions that were super GE corps and got the folks standing:

1975 - they rocked the world. Probably the greatest turnaround of back to back seasons in DCI history. A low scoring drumline prevented them from doing better. The Danny Boy wheel and the rifle line are eternal visual orgasms.

1981 - a great corps - they had very talented players, but I think they underperformed. At times they were on fire and ready to chase for the title, other times, they seem to sit back and take whatever they earned for a score.

The corps with the most age-outs that totally underperformed? Hands down 1978. So many long term veterans, yet their show was not written well enough for them to kick it up a notch. 1976 was also an awkward year. We were ready and we were fired up - but we hit a plateau and things suddenly were put on hold. We beat BD at DATR in Denver, but that was it.

The corps in all of the other years - worked and worked and worked but a variety of issues prevented them from getting over a hump. The issues were either staff related, section related, the dynamics of out-of-staters arriving late, the corps not being full until late June. No one ever made an excuse, and the pride of being a 27th Lancer was never in question.

You're right! My mistake.

I thought the Lancers won some sort of title in '71. Was it American Legion?

[Walter]

My favorite 27th show of all time, 1975 !!! b**bs b**bs b**bs

[LancerLegend]

You're right! My mistake.

I thought the Lancers won some sort of title in '71. Was it American Legion?

LOL - well they did a few shows. As I mentioned above - World Open and Danny Thomas were back to back days. CYO Nationals had 15 corps and World Open had even more with their prelims. Although 27th was 3rd in prelims - there was no doubt they would let CYO be forgotten. Danny Thomas had 8 or 9 of the same corps from CYO and WO - so 27th won 2 of the 3. Blue Rock - winner of CYO would not fare as well. SCV, Anaheim and the Troopers were also serious contenders.

The "BIG" show that 27th did win was the Shriner's International in Toronto. This show was a classic boxing match early in the season featuring another former great - The Kilties. 27th also won Shriner's in 1972 - defeating Blue Star who went on to pull a 2nd at the first DCI championship.

Believe me, there were several contests that awarded flags. For 27th - that World Open flag was "lime frosting on marble cake."

[RobG]

After being a long-time fan, I joined 27 in '86. Even though I love '80 and '81, '86 is special for me. I have never been associated with any group that had more heart than the 1986 27th Lancers.