Star 93 is AWESOME

[Liahona]

As you know, Star of Indiana won in 1991. ( great show, by the way )

Are you saying that DCI placements were fixed in both 1992 and 1993 and that this prevented Star of Indiana from winning ? ( remember, some people consider it rude or worse, going bonkers when DCP posters or fans claim conspiracy theories with the judges,.. so be prepared Liahona )

Point well taken and I'm not trying to disrespect ANY members of the Winning corps those years either. It came out wrong, but I guess flame me away now. This is what some DCP posters love to do.

[BRASSO]

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So today we fondly look back at that show and with 20/20 vision see the genius and performance excellence that we .

Who's " we " ? One read from just this thread alone and we see everyting from " fondness " ... to " boring :.... to " overated "... and everything in between. 93 Star was every bit the lightening rod that the Blue Devils shows are today..

It would be inappropriate to use the phrase " fondness " for the Blue Devils of today, every bit as much as 93 Star was received then..... and is received today. Did you NOT read the comments on this thread where Star 93 was " boring " or " overated ".... pretty much what has been said about this 93 Corps for ALL thee years ? Some loved it... some hated it.... and some ( like me ) thought it was a very good 2nd place Corps for 1993, and wouldn't have been all that upset had it won by a few tenths in 1993.

But " we look back with fondness " might be more aptly said as " I " ( you ) and perhaps " some others" look back with " fondness ". Surely, it is a minority opinion too, as the DCI polling a few years back told us pretty clearly thatfor most fans, there were more Corps shows that provided more " fondness " for them than did 1993 Star of Indiana's show.

Edited June 28, 2010 by BRASSO

[GMichael1230]

Point well taken and I'm not trying to disrespect ANY members of the Winning corps those years either. It came out wrong, but I guess flame me away now. This is what some DCP posters love to do.

Dont worry...you are safe. Just take it from where it comes.........

G

[vferrera]

Star was one of those corps where you felt like they could perform anything the staff gave them. I just wish the design team had been a bit less artsy and a bit more entertain-y.

As for who deserved to win in 92, 93, look, DCI judging just isn't that precise. In any given year, you can make an argument for 2 or 3 corps winning. If the spread is less than 1 point, then it could have gone either way. maybe a different judging panel, or one corps is a little more "on", or whatever.

[BRASSO]

Saying that Star lost in 93 because of politics is extremely insulting to the members of the 93 Cadets.

Absolutely. I thought conspiracy theories re. the judges was passe. Guess it's still out there.

A compelling case could be made that the 1993 Cadets winning performance has been maligned unfairly it seems to me with this fawning over a Corps Finals performance... where my guess, many of the fawners were not in Jackson Missssippi at all in August of 1993. I was there. ( those who were there, probably stll remember the poultry farm smell nearby... remember ? ). I thought Phantom Regiment might have nipped Star in their Finals performance, as a matter of fact. I had some friends with me that thought the same... that it would be a toss up between Star and Cadets.. and maybe even Phantom in the mix as they had a great improvement in their Finals show, particularly the 2nd half of the show, over both the Quarters and Semi's. It was by no means a foregone conclusion tha Star should have won on Finals Night 1993. The Cadets won.( Cadets also won the Semi's and with a different judging panel lest we forget ) And this poster agrees that the judges got it right at Finals Night then.... and I havn't changed my mind since then either on what I saw from these Corps that night.

Edited June 28, 2010 by BRASSO

[Lance]

I think it's flattering that SCV 2010 is being compared to Star 1993 even if a lot of people happened not to like Star 1993 or SCV 2010.

Can't wait for them to get the closer in.

[BRASSO]

I think it's flattering that SCV 2010 is being compared to Star 1993 even if a lot of people happened not to like Star 1993 or SCV 2010.

Can't wait for them to get the closer in.

I think it's a good comparison, Lance. I see some already that like this SCV show a lot... some not so much.... and others bored by it. I liked 93 Star's show better so far than 2010 SCV's show .... but it's early, and SCV will no doubt add, tweak, clean and polish.... so I'll reserve judgment on this show until we see and hear a more completed version in a few weeks time.

Edited June 28, 2010 by BRASSO

[wvu80]

It's a bit of a shame that the version that is used as a comparison point is the '93 Finals performance, which was the most ridiculously intense show I've ever seen - before or since.

Early on in the season, Star '93 laid a major egg, especially when they were still in the old red/white uniforms. The program was slow, confusing, quiet and just really, really odd. It was a hard show to like, much less love. By the end of the season, however, they had figured out what do with it and formed it into spectacle of incredible control and simmering emotion.

Even with that, though, I don't think most people were calling it a "masterpiece" for a good 10 years, when it became apparent that so many things that others corps were doing could trace their beginnings back to that one show.

I know it's really hard for people today to understand that Star 93 show. Mr. Naked Eye's views come the best to help others understand what it was like to be there.

I also heard Star about three weeks before finals. They had the old Roman Images uniforms, and frankly the corps played the music like they weren't sure how to interpret it. I remember feeling outraged that drum corps "fans" would boo any corps, but that really did happen, and it was embarrassing.

But then I heard Star about a week before finals (I didn't see finals) and WOW! They had the new creme colored uniforms, tempos were up, the volume was up, the INTENSITY was way up and I remember thinking at the time they were really SELLING the show, which I didn't think they did before. Maybe it had to do with the booing, I don't know. Halfway into the season they weren't all that exciting, but at the end of the season the show really was special.

I haven't seen SCV 10, so obviously I can't comment. I would say you have to separate the way the two corps actually were, from the sometimes biased opinions of DCP posters.

Edited June 28, 2010 by wvu80

[jordsterr]

I'm probably reiterating as I haven't read much beyond the original post.

First, Star 93 is one of my all time favorites. That was cool year for me personally as I marched Star in 86 and Cadets in 87, 88. Both od those shows that year (along with Phantom and BD) are among my personal top 10, and that was maybe my favorite year ever.

It was also difficult. I loved the show immediately. I got what Donny was doing with the brass, and Jimmer's arrangements where off the charts great. The minimalist design was so different, and the triangular sculpture things were so fresh. But to say that not everyone around me was in agreement would be an understatement. I sat next to guy at Ypsilanti who was taking notes so he could write a scathing article for Drum Corps World. Fortunately, I don't think that was ever printed. At finals in Ypsi, people boo-ed and not just a little. There was one guy who was trying to get people to boo the kids as they passed in review after retreat (remember retreat? sigh). I sat next to a guy at DCI who had marched in 72 Kingsmen. That was neat experience, and we shared some perspectives about that kind of thing. he took notes on how often the entire hornline had their horns up. His rationale was that they shouldn't be scoring so well since they weren't "playing music." And of course, there was lots of talk about Barber and Bartok to begin with.

It's strange in retrospect, but those folks were amazing ground breakers. Anyone remember how the Cadets were reviled for playing Short Ride In A Fast Machine in 91? And how everyone loved SCV when they won with The Canyon? Or how SCV was loved when THEY played Short Ride? Or Phantom when they played 1,000 Airplanes on the Ceiling? Cadets had to break the minimalist ground. It must have been unpleasant at the time, but it opned doors.

So yeah. Star 93 is heralded today, but not so much then. Will SCV 10 be looked upon as a classic? I think it might. I saw what they had on the field in Clovis the other night, and I can't wait to see the complete package. It promises to be something great. Just remember that SCV last year did not have great reviews out of the gate, and obvious comparisons to another corps were made...for some pretty obvious reasons. Nevertheless, it turned out to be one of my favorites of the season. Frankly, considering when and where I marched, I think that's saying something. Jeff has a real knack for putting together something beautiful, and I suspect this year willl be no different.

[watersling]

Slightly off topic, how does Phantom 2001 compare to SCV 2010? Concerto for Orchestra!