After all the staff changes, your 2009 predictions

[baristeve]

I certainly hope as well. 8th place wouldve been almost laughable to some before this last year. And very few were predicting the 14th place in 2006 on here before the season.

Time will tell.

I was extremely impressed with blue stars last year and think they deserved every bit of 8th place. However, understand that as you get higher it gets progressively harder to pass people up. SIGNIFICANTLY harder. Therefore I don't see Blue stars gaining any momentum this year. You can go ahead and make outlandish predictions that mean nothing, though.

[bawker]

I like how everyone thinks The Cadets and Hopkins will willingly crumble under peer pressure (per se) and write a "safe" and "crowd friendly" show, and how somehow this means they will rise in the standings?? If history holds true, this group has been all about breaking from the norm and bringing about change and progress in the activity. If anything, I believe (and hope) that they will continue to march shows that challenge the audiences perceptions of what drum corps shows are, and pretty much FORCE the audience stand on their feet due to the brilliant execution and showmanship.

. . .if anything, "Lenny" is a return to old haunts, at least programatically it's a way back to those "safe" places, just like the name change and the 75th anniversary business is.

More than likely, much like the 1990 show had its salutes, there will be plenty of Bocook references to WSS, Mass, On the Waterfront and so on.

Now, they could go out and add a chorus and a pit full of electronics along with a narrator and go for the jugular . . .but unless they're willing to really show some balls and do Bernstein's Symphony #3, I don't see it.

If you're going to commit down the path of electronics and narrative as your primary elements of design, I think its high time that we see something more come out of it than the feel-good BOA pap that BAC/Crown 2004, Cadets 2007-2008 and so on have wrought. Something larger than the sum of its parts. An attempt to grow beyond convention in more ways than just using a technology that wasn't legal the year before.

Plenty of people are willing to accept something that's a game changer in the activity . . .we just haven't seen it yet.

[BozzlyB]

I like how everyone thinks The Cadets and Hopkins will willingly crumble under peer pressure (per se) and write a "safe" and "crowd friendly" show, and how somehow this means they will rise in the standings?? If history holds true, this group has been all about breaking from the norm and bringing about change and progress in the activity. If anything, I believe (and hope) that they will continue to march shows that challenge the audiences perceptions of what drum corps shows are, and pretty much FORCE the audience stand on their feet due to the brilliant execution and showmanship. They almost accomplished this in 2007 but were slightly held back by the criticism from the anti-narration fans as well as a very clean Blue Devils corps.

My actual predictions for 2009: Either BD or The Cadets will win, but the Cadets will finally have a show that is both innovative AND extremely crowd friendly.

This you believe. Personally I disagree.

[BozzlyB]

I was extremely impressed with blue stars last year and think they deserved every bit of 8th place. However, understand that as you get higher it gets progressively harder to pass people up. SIGNIFICANTLY harder. Therefore I don't see Blue stars gaining any momentum this year. You can go ahead and make outlandish predictions that mean nothing, though.

I get what you're saying, but I think breaking into top 12 is much more difficult than moving from 8th to 7th place. You see movement in the 6th through 9th spot almost every year, but how often do you see a new corps in the top 12 (yeah yeah I know BS were top 12 way back when but you know what I'm sayin.

[MikeD]

. . .if anything, "Lenny" is a return to old haunts, at least programatically it's a way back to those "safe" places, just like the name change and the 75th anniversary business is.

More than likely, much like the 1990 show had its salutes, there will be plenty of Bocook references to WSS, Mass, On the Waterfront and so on.

Now, they could go out and add a chorus and a pit full of electronics along with a narrator and go for the jugular . . .but unless they're willing to really show some balls and do Bernstein's Symphony #3, I don't see it.

I think it would be neat to have a Tony and Maria sing "Somewhere" as a duet with the corps behind them...or maybe find a boy soprano and do the "Adonai" section of "Chichester Psalms" as a micced vocal for a ballad-type number.

[baristeve]

I get what you're saying, but I think breaking into top 12 is much more difficult than moving from 8th to 7th place. You see movement in the 6th through 9th spot almost every year, but how often do you see a new corps in the top 12 (yeah yeah I know BS were top 12 way back when but you know what I'm sayin.

well then, by that logic I won't be surprised to see Blue Stars in 2nd place next year. Good luck with that!

[bawker]

I think it would be neat to have a Tony and Maria sing "Somewhere" as a duet with the corps behind them...or maybe find a boy soprano and do the "Adonai" section of "Chichester Psalms" as a micced vocal for a ballad-type number.

I dunno . . .the first would seem pretty trite to me, given all the bands that have attempted WSS in some form with and without vocals; the second idea could work much better, at least in the "gravitas" department.

[BozzlyB]

well then, by that logic I won't be surprised to see Blue Stars in 2nd place next year. Good luck with that!

Whew, not sure to go with that. I think just about anyone would agree that moving up one spot, from 8th to 7th, would be much easier than moving up 6 spots, from 14th to 8th. THAT seems logical to me. My point from the previous post which evidently didn't resonate, was that when you're sitting outside of 12th, it can seem like an impenitrable barrier to break into the sat night show. I don't see that same kind of mountain to climb moving up one spot from 8th to 7th.

[dciguy1987]

Safe to say that Blue Stars have a lot of momentum going into the coming season while the Coats are on a little slide and re-organizing.

[FTNK]

Bernstein show could go either way. If it's WSS and Candide all over again, no thanks. If it's Symphony No. 2 and some really awesome other stuff (perhaps with parts of more recognizable works interwoven) it could be awesome.