In your opinion...

[general_tsos_chicken2]

Best: 00 Cadets, 91 Star

Favorite: 03 Regiment

[jwillis35]

I'd say Garfield Cadets 1987.

There are so many great shows. My rationale, however, is this:

when you consider all fazes--visual GE, music GE, percussion, brass, guard, innovation, entertainment, connection between drill and music and color, and projection of theme to the audience--well, there just are not many shows that can content with this puppy. 84 Garfield is an absolute classic, as is 86 BD, 75 Madison, 91 Star and 94 BD. Also keep in mind that 87 Garfield had to fight off perhaps the most skilled of challengers, the 87 Vanguard, a show that IMO ranks as the 2nd or 3rd best second-place show ever.

As good as some corps have been here in the 2000s, I don't think any one of those shows competes with the classics I just mentioned. Phantom 2008 comes close, but other than the super high GE moments at the end, there were flaws with that show. 2002 Cavaliers were great visually but, IMO, a dud musically (very blah, not on my iPod). And 2005 Cadets were great performers but that show was also flawed in some senses and not my fav either (also not on my iPod).

For a show to be a true classic and IMO one of the best of all time, they must have all the goods, including a high level of entertainment, not just great performance.

[leadsop97]

Best = Cavies 2004. Packaging visual and music is finally complete and hasn't been reproduced since.

Favorite = Madison 1999.

[glory]

It's so interesting.

Similar polls just a few years ago were dominated by Cavies 02 and Cadets 00. Likewise, the first Classic Countdown no so long ago annointed Vanguard 88/89 as the clear fan favorite. Those shows are under-represented here by comparison. No judgment on that fact. Just an observation.

And it makes me wonder how Phantom 08 will hold up. Even discounting current inflation for mere proximity, will Phantom 08 hold its appeal over time? Or will we love someone else next year?

My vote: Garfield 87.

HH

[skewerz]

tough question...can't be answered with just one choice, either

2008 Phantom...I've been saying this is my new best favorite, but this may be because I haven't seen a gripping show like that for decades

1985 Garfield and Santa Clara....just wow

1987 SkyRyders...my favorite West Side Story...

lots of honorable mentions...

pretty much any Garfield show of the 80's...

Blue Devils '98

SkyRyders 86-88

Bridgemen late 70's-early 80's

the list goes on...

Crown '07 gets a mention, also, as does LOOOO '08, and 27th '77

[cavalier81]

For pure, raw emotion: 1980 Spirit of Atlanta. The ending of "Let it be me" was played with all power and grief that 128 hearts could muster.

For fan reaction: 1979 Santa Clara Vanguard. I have never before or since heard a crowd scream so loud. Fans on their feet, babies on the track.

GOOD CALL!!!!

[Matt_S]

For me, the emotional impact of the show FAR outweighs the technical performance. I can plug the arrangement into Sibelius and get a playback as clean as any corps performance ever, but it still wouldn't be 1% as good as the real thing.

For me, excellent performance has always carried with it an emotional impact of its own. Yeah, I could listen to a recording, but there's nothing quite like watching a performer throw it down right in front of you. The machine might be technically perfect, but it's fascinating when you watch a performance coming from the skill and effort of another human being. Think of watching a piano virtuoso carving up a Rachmaninov or Prokofiev concerto. Yes, part of the thrill comes from the fact that it's excellent music, but there's a certain thrill that also comes from seeing such proficiency and ability on display.

The Cavaliers 2002 show is probably the most divisive example whenever this debate arises. Detractors assert that the music is cold and sterile, that they aren't able to connect with it emotionally. However, I think few would deny that the show is performed at an extremely high level. Personally, I've always felt an emotional connection to this show, and I think perhaps because I always feel a kind of empathy with the members on the field. I can't claim to have ever achieved at the level that they did - few in this activity have - but whenever I watch or listen to that show I get a chill just imagining what it must have been like to be a part of that product. How incredible must it have been, to know what you've accomplished, and to bring that home for a cheering audience? I remember the question on finals night wasn't who would win, it was by how much. Whenever I watch or listen to that show I get a thrill from seeing the skills I once practiced on display at the highest level, and that's enough to get me emotional every time.

[jwscv87]

1984 Garfield Cadets

Honorable Mention to SCV 99 and BD 86

Edited June 26, 2009 by jwscv87

[archbananas]

Being one of the new kids to DCI... I'd have to say...

Crown 2007 xP That was the show that got me hooked on to DCI

I still gotta give SCV 2007 props though :D I love that show for some unknown reason. It just gets my attention XD

[nemesiscorps]

I have to agree that show is up there with the best of them. If the crowd reaction determined the winner, you could call it a three way tie and give them a share of the title.

I agree that the original question can't be answered in any quantifiable way, but if it's crowd reaction, who can argue against the 1995 Madison Scouts, "A Drum Corps Fan's Dream"? However, for the record, I'm a Vanguard fan.

Anyway, I deliberately left some pretty great seats that evening of the 1995 Championships to watch Madison's show (and the crowd) from a high, angled vantage point around the 15 yard line. Why? Because I wanted to personally observe what that corps and that show was going to do to that crowd. I am SO glad I did that, because I knew at the time that it would be another one of those classic DCI moments that stand above and beyond so many great performances. I was oh so right!

Those that were there know exactly what I'm talking about. After I don't know how many standing ovations throughout the show, it finally came down to the park and blow section of "Malaga," where the vast majority of the audience stood on its feet from that point forward, and virtually everyone else standing (and yelling) for literally the last full minute of the show.

From the huge wheel rotation on the 50 yard line into the company front, it just got more and more feverish right to the very end. Who would have ever thought that even the powerful Madison Scouts horn line could be drowned out by crowd response? But it happened that night, and it was incredible. All individual corps loyalties seemed to be suspended during those precious last two minutes of that show. It can't be denied that something special was happening. Regardless of who you were loyal to that night, you know you yelled louder for Madison than anyone else, you just couldn't help it. For those that missed it, just listen to the end of that show (and the crowd) on audio, or better yet, watch the video footage. There's a reason they called them "The People's Choice."

The 1995 Madison Scouts!