Troopers, Pioneer, Crown, Etc

[acolli17]

I definitely think these are the corps to watch throughout the summer. From a personal standpoint, I love that people in general (although not everyone) were counting Troopers out of the top 12. I remember a poll on who people thought would make top 12 this year, and Troop kinda got left in the dust. I am ecstatic to see this much focus on them now. I just hope they can keep it up.

Edited July 3, 2009 by acolli17

[bmroth1]

To answer your questions very brief and direct.

1 Crown will win

2 Pioneer will finish either last or next to last

3 Troopers will finish behind Spirit and Colts who could possibly both make finals.

[BozzlyB]

To answer your questions very brief and direct.

1 Crown will win

2 Pioneer will finish either last or next to last

3 Troopers will finish behind Spirit and Colts who could possibly both make finals.

I agree with Pio finishing last or next to last. After seeing them in Dubuque I'm not in agreement with the crowd saying they're improved over the last few years. I think Crown will be fighting for 1st with Devils, with Crown being the crowd favorite and edging out Devils finals night in a Spartacusesque end to the year. Troopers will miss 12th place by .001 .

[JamMan]

Crown- has the closest thing I've seen to really capturing the "Star '93" vibe. A definite top-3 show and a probable contender.

Are you kidding? There is nothing NEW or INNOVATIVE about Crown's show! It's just a very confusing mess of sound. For the first half (except the nice horn intro), nobody I was sitting near could tell if there was actual music involved. It was just drumline pounding away clean snare notes, then too many trumpets and contras playing an unrelated riff, followed by the pit playing with awful sound quality, then broken-up drum features. Random body work in the hornline left many scratching their heads.

I don't like it. It has no drum corps feel to me, and I love drum corps. And then at the end I was left wondering, "What did any of that have to do with grass being greener?" My mom could not believe the same people that designed that show designed the '07 horse show. Boston was awesome, Cadets are getting there, Crown was just confusing. I really would like to know what was supposed to be good about the show. I don't know how they are winning GE if the audience is so reluctant to get on their feet at the end.

The brass book was cool, but it's clear that they have too many trumpets and contras and not enough middle brass. The sound was very discordant from up close.

I liked the snareline's execution, but the writing is extremely repetitive. I wish the bassline and tenorline were not missing injured players.

The pit plays with such a harsh sound, I had to leave their lot. I feared for the safety of the mallets and bars, they played that hard. My friend said to me, "I have never heard a marimba sound that loud before!" Well, that's because it shouldn't. For all you non-keyboard playing people out there, if you can see the keys bouncing off the rails, they're playing too hard.

The guard had a very rough time in the mist (as did all corps) but I was never blown away (none of the corps really blew me away there, but I guess since Crown is winning, they should have).

I believe drum corps shows should bring something that will want to make me jump out of my seat multiple times during a performance. Boston did it last night, as did the Cadets. Crown...not so much.

Overall, I can see this show doing well, as there is still a ways to go, but until they really retool their closer and overall theme, I don't see them surviving SCV, BD, Phantom and late-season Cadets.

I'm seeing the Bristol show tonight, hopefully from higher up. So maybe my opinion will change. But so far, Crown has not lived up to the hype.

[MelloMike]

I believe drum corps shows should bring something that will want to make me jump out of my seat multiple times during a performance. Boston did it last night, as did the Cadets. Crown...not so much.

Overall, I can see this show doing well, as there is still a ways to go, but until they really retool their closer and overall theme, I don't see them surviving SCV, BD, Phantom and late-season Cadets.

I like Crown's show this year though I can't defend my argument very articulately so I'm not gonna try but I really agree with the whole wanting to jump out of your seat and them not surviving SCV, BD, Phantom, or Cadets. Well said.

[kansasDC]

Pioneer- Depends on how well they use their own 10-day break starting soon. I honestly have no idea about moving up until I see how Cascades start off. Tomorrow will be a very telling day because all 22 corps are finally in competition on the same day (albeit at different shows)

Based on the timing of your post, I would assume that you meant that all 22 corps would be competing on the evening of 7/3, as there is only one show on 7/4. However, I believe that only 18 of the 22 are competing this season. I KNOW that Blue Stars are off tonight, as I also believe Cavies, Glassmen and Spirit are off as well.

Edited July 4, 2009 by kansasDC

[Pinwiz]

I believe drum corps shows should bring something that will want to make me jump out of my seat multiple times during a performance. Boston did it last night, as did the Cadets. Crown...not so much.

And yet the crowd was on their feet for Crown before they were finished at the show I attended. It, along with Boston, were the only two shows that got involuntary shouts from me. (Standing up in the middle of a show that's not designed for it is bad etiquette imho.)

I respect your opinion, but from what I've seen you are in the minority. That's okay, I'm in the minority quite often too.

[Quinny]

Are you kidding? There is nothing NEW or INNOVATIVE about Crown's show! It's just a very confusing mess of sound. For the first half (except the nice horn intro), nobody I was sitting near could tell if there was actual music involved. It was just drumline pounding away clean snare notes, then too many trumpets and contras playing an unrelated riff, followed by the pit playing with awful sound quality, then broken-up drum features. Random body work in the hornline left many scratching their heads.

I don't like it. It has no drum corps feel to me, and I love drum corps. And then at the end I was left wondering, "What did any of that have to do with grass being greener?" My mom could not believe the same people that designed that show designed the '07 horse show. Boston was awesome, Cadets are getting there, Crown was just confusing. I really would like to know what was supposed to be good about the show. I don't know how they are winning GE if the audience is so reluctant to get on their feet at the end.

The brass book was cool, but it's clear that they have too many trumpets and contras and not enough middle brass. The sound was very discordant from up close.

I liked the snareline's execution, but the writing is extremely repetitive. I wish the bassline and tenorline were not missing injured players.

The pit plays with such a harsh sound, I had to leave their lot. I feared for the safety of the mallets and bars, they played that hard. My friend said to me, "I have never heard a marimba sound that loud before!" Well, that's because it shouldn't. For all you non-keyboard playing people out there, if you can see the keys bouncing off the rails, they're playing too hard.

The guard had a very rough time in the mist (as did all corps) but I was never blown away (none of the corps really blew me away there, but I guess since Crown is winning, they should have).

I believe drum corps shows should bring something that will want to make me jump out of my seat multiple times during a performance. Boston did it last night, as did the Cadets. Crown...not so much.

Overall, I can see this show doing well, as there is still a ways to go, but until they really retool their closer and overall theme, I don't see them surviving SCV, BD, Phantom and late-season Cadets.

I'm seeing the Bristol show tonight, hopefully from higher up. So maybe my opinion will change. But so far, Crown has not lived up to the hype.

Seriously.. To put down a corps by saying they are a mess of sound, is not cool.. like or not like a show does not mean they are a mess. If you didnt get the concept fine.. but it doesnt make them of poor quality. Or it doesnt mean they dont deserve a high score. This was not a discussion in which to tear down a corps completely.

[arno0940]

And yet the crowd was on their feet for Crown before they were finished at the show I attended. It, along with Boston, were the only two shows that got involuntary shouts from me. (Standing up in the middle of a show that's not designed for it is bad etiquette imho.)

I respect your opinion, but from what I've seen you are in the minority. That's okay, I'm in the minority quite often too.

At the Erie show, Cadets had two standing ovations - throughout the show. All other corps had a standing ovation at the end of their shows. Crown was well received as well.

[acolli17]

Are you kidding? There is nothing NEW or INNOVATIVE about Crown's show! It's just a very confusing mess of sound. For the first half (except the nice horn intro), nobody I was sitting near could tell if there was actual music involved. It was just drumline pounding away clean snare notes, then too many trumpets and contras playing an unrelated riff, followed by the pit playing with awful sound quality, then broken-up drum features. Random body work in the hornline left many scratching their heads.

I don't like it. It has no drum corps feel to me, and I love drum corps. And then at the end I was left wondering, "What did any of that have to do with grass being greener?" My mom could not believe the same people that designed that show designed the '07 horse show. Boston was awesome, Cadets are getting there, Crown was just confusing. I really would like to know what was supposed to be good about the show. I don't know how they are winning GE if the audience is so reluctant to get on their feet at the end.

The brass book was cool, but it's clear that they have too many trumpets and contras and not enough middle brass. The sound was very discordant from up close.

I liked the snareline's execution, but the writing is extremely repetitive. I wish the bassline and tenorline were not missing injured players.

The pit plays with such a harsh sound, I had to leave their lot. I feared for the safety of the mallets and bars, they played that hard. My friend said to me, "I have never heard a marimba sound that loud before!" Well, that's because it shouldn't. For all you non-keyboard playing people out there, if you can see the keys bouncing off the rails, they're playing too hard.

The guard had a very rough time in the mist (as did all corps) but I was never blown away (none of the corps really blew me away there, but I guess since Crown is winning, they should have).

I believe drum corps shows should bring something that will want to make me jump out of my seat multiple times during a performance. Boston did it last night, as did the Cadets. Crown...not so much.

Overall, I can see this show doing well, as there is still a ways to go, but until they really retool their closer and overall theme, I don't see them surviving SCV, BD, Phantom and late-season Cadets.

I'm seeing the Bristol show tonight, hopefully from higher up. So maybe my opinion will change. But so far, Crown has not lived up to the hype.

Keys were bouncing constantly for me last summer. We just had loose string holding the bars.