Bob984 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Here is my review of DCI finals..... general....fantastic crowd, perfect weather, seat on the 50 in middle of stadium....as good as it gets....... Marine Corps opened it up with a fine exhibition........I never get tired of Malaguena, and the crowd liked it, too....a great group on and off the field........... SCV Cadets...........open champs....I thought they were decent in all captions....that said, I was a bit stunned that they won the open title, as I had seen Jersey Surf multiple times and felt they had much more depth to their program, especially musically, and I also heard from others that Blue Devils B were fantastic.... Madison.............warm welcome back to finals by crowd.....they performed well, and excited the crowd...I felt should have been a bit closer to Glassmen Glassmen.............good visual show, and solid execution for the most part.....I felt brass was still inconsistent in some places.....theme works pretty well, but music arrangements could be stronger and "less gimmicky"... Boston................enjoyable arrangements, and fairly even in captions.......Conquest ending works.............. Blue Knights.........show is abstract for many, but well-performed....mature brass/percussion......solid visual program....... Blue Stars...........wow....did they accomplish their goals and then some!! Show was very well arranged, with great coordination and programming......good brass sound.........if they build on this, look out......... SCV....................good show tonight....I thought they had a tad more energy and were slightly cleaner in semis, but still a good job.....show is well-constructed, interesting arrangements, and solid impacts....much to build on here as well..... Bluecoats.............did their best job of the year....percussion was very tight and brass solid......still had some problems in On the Waterfront, but were strong elsewhere...crowd pleasing.....brass hit on right side was a gas.... Cadets................solid job.........solid in all captions, and show has much depth......incredible closing drill, however I think they had trouble sustaining in the brass with the movement demand, something they were able to achieve last year........ Crown................wow......simply the finest quality of brass sound on the planet (with Phantom 2nd)....they are SO musical in every aspect, and play great arrangements with superb phrasing and interpretation, and percussion also quite musical and fit like a glove........they also sold the program tonight and all year..... I had them 2nd.......... Cavaliers...........very strong visually and in percussion.....that said, there is a huge amount of brass tacet time, and time where not much happening (ie spending over a minute "bending notes")...they do have some demand, and play with decent quality most of the time (although there were some issues, especially mellophones) However, musical book is lacking in demand, substance, dynamic range and effect when compared to Crown and Phantom.......most of the effect in the show is visually generated......... Phantom.............if BD was a 20 in visual ( ?) then these guys were a 22 in music effect........the music arrangements were fabulous, from the start with the heralds until the last note, and they had huge impacts and incredible dynamic range.......mellophone section was especially outrageous.....percussion was smoke, as they were all year, ane executed extremely well, with a book that also fit very musically... the visual presented the music well, and they increased the performance level there as well......... huge crowd response...........congrats to the NEW WORLD CHAMPS!!!!! Devils............. strong visual program...........percussion had execution issues, and so did brass....not reflected at all in the brass score....they have impact and some rangy trumpets, but music lacks expression and musical continuity, especially compared to Crown and Phantom. I especially question the win in brass, when Crown and Phantom were superior in every musical aspect.........overscored, especially astronomical and questional visual scores all week.......I had them below both Phantom and Crown....... I split before the scores were announced, frankly because I thought we were going to have "same old, same old...." was happily stunned to find out by phone halfway to Indy that Phantom eeked out the championship, and this morning some people said that the crowd reaction for the win was huge...........congrats to a terrific Phantom Regiment corps, and all of the corps for putting on quite a show! GB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmc5577 Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Marine Corps opened it up with a fine exhibition........I never get tired of Malaguena, and the crowd liked it, too....a great group on and off the field........... My fav corps. It is amazing how well they perform considering all they have on their plate. These guys are MARINE musicians and as such spend considerable amounts of time devoted to the military side of the house. Many times drill rehearsal is conducted once a week and even then sometimes it is on an unmarked field. True professionals and outstanding Marines! Thanks for your service Marines! Devils............. strong visual program...........percussion had execution issues, and so did brass....not reflected at all in the brass score....they have impact and some rangy trumpets, but music lacks expression and musical continuity, especially compared to Crown and Phantom. I especially question the win in brass, when Crown and Phantom were superior in every musical aspect.........overscored, especially astronomical and questional visual scores all week.......I had them below both Phantom and Crown....... Even when I was marching in the early '80s it seemed like one had to beat BD by 1 or 2 full points to beat them by 0.1 on the score sheets. Flame me if you like but that is my perspective from the trenches. I do love that hornline though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Even when I was marching in the early '80s it seemed like one had to beat BD by 1 or 2 full points to beat them by 0.1 on the score sheets. So THAT'S how you got my ring!!! Trying to beat you guys was no easy task either....it took until 86 for other corps to catch up to what Garfield was doing back then. *hope you weren't involved in the Wipeout* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmc5577 Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 So THAT'S how you got my ring!!! Trying to beat you guys was no easy task either....it took until 86 for other corps to catch up to what Garfield was doing back then. *hope you weren't involved in the Wipeout* Hee hee. No I wasn't involved in the wipeout and was probably the last one in the stadium to find out about it. Boy was I surprised. (nobody tells me anything) What a hornline yall had in '84. I've always admired BDs 'take no prisoners' approach to playing. We were always ..ahem.. slightly controlled. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trakanon Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Holy ellipses. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiltieKemo06 Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Marine Corps opened it up with a fine exhibition........I never get tired of Malaguena, and the crowd liked it, too....a great group on and off the field........... My fav corps. It is amazing how well they perform considering all they have on their plate. These guys are MARINE musicians and as such spend considerable amounts of time devoted to the military side of the house. Many times drill rehearsal is conducted once a week and even then sometimes it is on an unmarked field. True professionals and outstanding Marines! Thanks for your service Marines! Well...if you check my bio below you'll see that like you I marched USMC as well. The MOS for Marine Barracks (8th & I) was (and is) exclusive Marine Field Muscians which means not doing ANYTHING else other than going for the rifle course once a year and such. Trumans' corps unless it has changed since ARE still MARINES but the only service they do is drum corps. They are the ONLY professional drum corps out there. What I would like to know is what else are they doing now except corps? Drum corps dinosaur since back in the day. I understand that because of travel...housing etc...that every day can not be devoted to rehearsal but........! I too believe that the Commandants Own are the BEST drum corps period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usmc5577 Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Well...if you check my bio below you'll see that like you I marched USMC as well. The MOS for Marine Barracks (8th & I) was (and is) exclusive Marine Field Muscians which means not doing ANYTHING else other than going for the rifle course once a year and such. Trumans' corps unless it has changed since ARE still MARINES but the only service they do is drum corps. They are the ONLY professional drum corps out there. What I would like to know is what else are they doing now except corps? Drum corps dinosaur since back in the day. I understand that because of travel...housing etc...that every day can not be devoted to rehearsal but........! I too believe that the Commandants Own are the BEST drum corps period. With respect I must say that things have changed from 1972 and indeed have changed within the last decade. The D&B was among the first units to qualify in the new (not so new now) martial arts training program. Rifle training (every Marine a rifleman), attending the resident NCO & SNCO academy, company PT, sending Marines for deployment to Iraq, etc. It's the real deal. I served with Col Crawford and went through this transition. Despite the non-drum corps demands they still manage to produce a remarkable product. How can they do this? Simple. They are Marines. But I am preaching to the choir here because you are one of us my brother. Semper Fi Marine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiltieKemo06 Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Well...if you check my bio below you'll see that like you I marched USMC as well. The MOS for Marine Barracks (8th & I) was (and is) exclusive Marine Field Muscians which means not doing ANYTHING else other than going for the rifle course once a year and such. Trumans' corps unless it has changed since ARE still MARINES but the only service they do is drum corps. They are the ONLY professional drum corps out there. What I would like to know is what else are they doing now except corps? Drum corps dinosaur since back in the day. I understand that because of travel...housing etc...that every day can not be devoted to rehearsal but........!I too believe that the Commandants Own are the BEST drum corps period. With respect I must say that things have changed from 1972 and indeed have changed within the last decade. The D&B was among the first units to qualify in the new (not so new now) martial arts training program. Rifle training (every Marine a rifleman), attending the resident NCO & SNCO academy, company PT, sending Marines for deployment to Iraq, etc. It's the real deal. I served with Col Crawford and went through this transition. Despite the non-drum corps demands they still manage to produce a remarkable product. How can they do this? Simple. They are Marines. But I am preaching to the choir here because you are one of us my brother. Semper Fi Marine. Semper Fi Bro. Nuff said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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