Finals Week Predictions

[bandman28]

with 41 corps performing in prelims, and with that many spreads, don't be surprised if we see a record number of corps break 90 on thursday.

[bandman28]

also don't underestimate some of the open class corps, they may very well pass WC corps that have been stagnate at the bottom of the ranks for years.

[behold888]

with 41 corps performing in prelims, and with that many spreads, don't be surprised if we see a record number of corps break 90 on thursday.

oh wow, that's interesting, i never thought of that. but do you really think that just because there are LOTS of corps that would affect scores? If a group was on track to get an 88 at finals, why would that push them to, say, a 91?

also don't underestimate some of the open class corps, they may very well pass WC corps that have been stagnate at the bottom of the ranks for years.

yes, this part of it will be very interesting - though probably not unexpected/surprising.

[stevie89phan]

1) Cadets

2) Blue Devils

3) TIE: Cavaliers/Carolina Crown

5) Phantom Regiment

6) Bluecoats

7) SCV

8) Boston Crusaders

9) Madison Scouts

10) Blue Knights

11) Blue Stars

12) Spirit of Atlanta

[DrumManTx]

Based on what I've seen from Allentown and this weeks results. My FINAL PREDICTION! (Can't believe it's almost over!!!! Seems like yesterday I was gonna post my first. )

1st - The Cadets: 98.55 This show is just "that" show in every year that you have that feeling about from the beginning.

2nd - Blue Devils: 98.2 Execution out the butt. Whether or not you like it (I do), you've gotta give them for credit for executing the s### out of it.

3rd - Cavaliers: 97.2 This show ran out of gas a little too early. Not completely counting them out, but I'm not too sure they can pull it out. Who knows though?

4th - Carolina Crown: 96.9 One word, BRASS!!!! Visual keeps them from placing a little higher, most underrated and underscored guard of the year.

5th - Phantom Regiment: 95.1 2nd cleanest show in the top 12 right now under BD. Emotional, beautiful, and elegant. Most beautiful guard of the year. Most importantly, Phantom is REALLY Phantom again. New ending gets some WOWS I have a feeling.

6th - Bluecoats: 93.5 Visual keeps them from jumping Phantom, Music keeps them above Vanguard. GE could really hurt them though. Vanguard close. Most underrated drum line this year.

7th - Santa Clara Vanguard: 93.3 Most improved from the beginning of the season. GE and visual really strong, 3 or 4 below them provide some blows in brass and ensemble music. Guard places top 5, drum line as well.

8th - Blue Knights: 91.5 This show catches fire this week, new ending provides the little boost they need to jump Boston and Madison. Older fans love it.

9th - Boston Crusaders: 91.2 Visual and GE place 8th or 7th. Overall strong in all captions. Extremely underrated guard.

10th - Madison Scouts: 90.7 One of the top crowd responses in awhile. Visual holds them back a little, Music GE and ensemble in 7th or 8th.

11th - Blue Stars: 89.1 Strong program, just a little too dirty. Lots of people still wonder why it scores so low. Drum line top 8. Second underrated and underscored guard of the year.

12th - I don't know. Score will be a 87. Too close to call.

Before you don't like my predictions.

Cadets and BD could go either way IMO.

Cavaliers could catch them, or Crown will catch up to the Cavies.

Vanguard and Bloo could be closer to Phantom, not too confident in that though.

BK, Madison, Boston, and Blue Stars. I didn't know what order to put these in. Geesh this is the most competitive grouping IMO.

GE: Cadets

Visual: Blue Devils

Music: (CLOSE) Blue Devils

Guard: Blue Devils

Percussion: Blue Devils

Brass: Carolina Crown

In my heart Blue Stars are 8th, but unfortunately the judges don't think that.

Edited August 11, 2011 by DrumManTx

[staplestable]

My optimistic list:

1. The Cadets 98.250

2. Blue Devils 98.100

3. The Cavaliers 96.800

4. Carolina Crown 96.250

5. Santa Clara Vanguard 94.350

6. Phantom Regiment 94.300

7. Bluecoats 93.600

8. Boston Crusaders 92.100

9. Blue Knights 90.950

10. Madison Scouts 89.900

11. Blue Stars 88.700

12. Spirit of Atlanta 87.100

[HoltonH178]

Honestly, I think that the top 4 are already locked in. Not that I've spent a lifetime being right. Just because I'm such a homer, most of my score watching has been for the magical number 12 spot. More on that after the jump...

Placements:

1. Cadets - It's the classic finals-week push. I'm sure this corps is out for blood after their win at Meadowlands. I'll be rooting for a surprise Demon victory on Saturday night to push them over the top.

2. Blue Devils - Wonderful corps, wonderful program; I don't think we'll be seeing a threepeat.

3. Cavaliers - Been locked in this spot virtually all season it seems like. I think probably this is the placement I'm most sure of divining.

4. Carolina Crown - LOVE LOVE LOVE Paint it Black/Eruption. LOVE! Easily my favorite drum corps movement in recent memory. I know this corps is probably frustrated by the Cadevaliers lock on the top 3 and feel like they're jammed up against a glass ceiling competitive-wise...somewhat rightly so. But as much as I would like to believe that Meadowlands means Crown has a chance of nipping the Cavaliers' heels on Saturday night, I really think that the TOC format tilts heavily towards Crown over Cavaliers. I see Crown sitting pretty in fourth, closer to Cavs than Regiment and ready to assume the mantle of Star this corps hopes to in 2012.

5. Phantom Regiment - Beautiful. Phantom in the form I first learned them in: strong, strong music. Guard killed at Meadowlands as well.

6. Santa Clara Vanguard - I honestly just think this corps will land here. Haven't seen/heard them at all. My bad.

7. Blue Knights - GET ENGLISH! Love this hornline, the musical book, the selections. Loved them in Orlando. I think this corps will earn themselves a well-deserved place in the TOC shows next year. This program is a winner. I don't see them catching SCV, not because I know anything about SCV in comparison to BK, just that spread seems insurmountable to me. I do, however, see them slashing their way to the top of the 7-11 pack.

8. Boston Crusaders - This corps is made of GIANTS! After so many years of closely following and competing with the Crusaders, I think they're (finally) doing an excellent job branding themselves and pushing design--no more of the chicken-winged Miami team from Boston with the 4-person-pod-box and parallel-lines-meet-on-the-50 drill moves they'd been using 1999-2004. When I see this corps take the field, I know that they don't gava what number the judges assign, and there is absolutely no room for doubt that the Boston Crusaders are here to be BAC. This is a corps with 71 years under its belt and I hope that they, too, earn themselves a well-deserved place in the TOC shows next year. I know that Boston has placed higher, but I don't think the corps was developing quite the same consistency, brand, or well-oiled machine like they have since Tom Spataro assumed the helm.

9. Bluecoats - A stiff fall in placement from 2010 for this corps. This is more of a "gut feeling" kinda thing--I really believe that Boston and BK are getting those "branding" and "identity" concepts that propelled Crown and Bluecoats into the top 5 better than the Bluecoats are this year. Not a bad show or corps by any measure, but in a year this hot, they've gotta make room at the top. Part of me wonders if this is DCI "self-correcting" breaking the Cadevaliers religion for this corps in 2010.

10. Madison Scouts - Robert W. Smith continues to serve up some of the tastiest licks in the bidness, and I keep coming to his stand, wherever it is, for more. Some of my former instructors from HS were involved in teaching this brassline, and boy, can you hear it. Breathing monsters, all of them. Although I think their brass will finish 7th, I just don't think the visual end of this program holds water quite as well; I even find myself quite bored with the drill in ESOM in spite of absolutely loving the arrangement.

11. Blue Stars - Ugh, okay. I know I'm going to be hated on for this, but I'll go ahead and out with it...you know these guys are performing a Tarpon Springs show, right? I don't want to have anything misinterpreted; I absolutely love the work of Kevin Ford, but after BAC 2002 and 2004, I'm honestly disappointed to see them going back to the proverbial band-o-merica well in a year when the Blue Stars were in a great position to be hanging out in the 5-9 crowd. The worst part about all of it is that I believe the kids are being penalized competitively for their program when their execution is noteworthy. I know that with Tarpon Springs Mr. Ford does really, really great things with props and, quite often, a field that is smaller in size due to those props, but Tarpon Springs is a low-membership competitor in BOA and FMBC. In DCI, with our (near) 150 members in every World Class corps, it really just makes the Vis GE look like clusterfudge (and can you imagine the logistical headaches staff and membership endure for these ramps?!). There are really cool things happening in this program but for some reason it's on the 35 instead of the 50, and there's this big monstrosity taking up centerfield. Where can you go from there?

12. Glassmen - Glassmen slide into 12th, just barely KOing a hot Spirit of Atlanta this year after not making finals at any regional events. I think the corps will make it into Glast place again on the backs of their outstanding guard and percussion performance captions, which are hanging out around 8th while their Dynasty-addled and recruitment-deficient brass are hanging out in 15th. I keep trying to find an explanation for this corps' placement outside of their hornline and the truth is that there just isn't a good one. Don Hill, whose music I marched in HS, formerly of The Cadets and with titles in BOA as well as DCI under his belt wrote an absolutely wonderful and inventive brass book. I can't remember whether the drill writer is Pete Weber or Jamey Thompson, but whoever it is did not write a shoddy visual program. The show is totally in a vein that fits for DCI finals, is contemporary, understandable, beautiful, modern. I mean it is now anyways, it was still muddled when I saw them in Orlando. I think this corps might deserve the "most improved" award for the finalists this season from June to August. Still though, when I'm not in a position to tell you who is writing the show for my corps alma mater, I believe it is indicative of a problem. It's no secret that the Glassmen have almost nil internet activity going on compared to the other corps. It's no secret that for the last 7 years or so, the Bluecoats have been sucking up the oxygen in the upper midwest and then have camps which attract twice as many brass players from Texas because they won't have to pay for 6 round-trip plane tickets in 'Coats. The Glassmen do have the ever-important "brand" and "identity," and it continues to evolve, but I feel like the brass caption has been left in 1999 and hasn't truly grown or changed since they got Bb horns. While other programs in the Midwest-to-Northeast have expanded their audition modalities, often using social media to maximize potential members access and offering monthly camps in satellite locations, the Glassmen are not casting nearly as wide of a net. This isn't so much of a problem in the GCG because of their links to TX/OK and the fact that guard doesn't have to rehearse in the winter, or the percussion because I know it to be the heart and passion of the corps director, but the brassline is playing on inferior instruments with inferior talent--and with a first-year brass staff to boot (however immensely talented I know they are). If they don't figure out their brassline in 2012, I don't expect this corps to be a regular finalist, let alone push back up in the rankings where the organization and its leaders really belong.

As you can see, I'm hardest on the ones I love . Plus, there's just more thought to be dedicated to the bottom end of finals IMHO because there's more that could be fixed. I really wish that someone had said to me when I was a marcher that in August, the staff is almost more on the Championships field than you are. I see immense talent all the way through this top twelve and well beyond. I find myself quite glad 25 corps will be in semifinals this year because of how far down the talent extends. It's hard to imagine many of these programs being significantly cleaner than they are. A wonderful year on the whole, and one that I believe bodes well for the future of our activity.

[FHdork]

I see things largely as you do holder of Holton horns...except Bluecoats' stunning execution will keep them in 7th or 8th...they do too well what they're charged with doing.

[GMichael1230]

with 41 corps performing in prelims, and with that many spreads, don't be surprised if we see a record number of corps break 90 on thursday.

not gonna happen......

Geoffrey

[GMichael1230]

Catherine Burr is a judge now?

you had to ??........LOL

Geoffrey