Crown is... just okay.

[2000Cadet]

I've never been the biggest Crown fan (yea, a disclaimer), but to say Crown's show this year is "just okay" is kind of a disservice to them. That show has everything. I think what's holding them back is their drumline and drill. But other than that, they would really be in a position to win it. Hell, there is still time.

[mikespeed]

I wasn't really into it when I watched it on the Fan Network. Live it's an entirely different animal.

[CrunchyTenor]

I'm still awaiting the expalnation for the Mighty Ducks reference.

Emilio Estevez is the Visual Caption.

Garry in Vegas

[Tez]

lol almost forgot about that...

well I'll start with this. During SCV's ballad, I seriously thought that it was the same song used in the movie Contact w/ Jodie Foster. I was thinking, "Awesome, because that piece is great AND it definitely has to do with Starry Night." Turns out, it wasn't that song at all--but oh well. Also, I thought that the American opening credits for Battlestar Galactica copied SCV's 1999 opener but again, it wasn't so.

So... being that Crown's show is "For The Common Good," I associated the opening music with that of music from the Mighty Ducks movies. It's been years since I've seen the movies but that was really the first thing that popped into my head. The music Crown is using is of course, NOT music from the MD movies but again, that was just my reaction.

Also, it's not a bad thing either--I liked the MD movies and didn't the Ducks win at the end ALL the time after struggling against foes who were seemingly bigger and stronger?

"Fanfare for the Common Man" is one of the most famous orchestral compositions of the 20th century.... by arguably the top American composer of the 20th century. So I find it just a little strange that it "reminds" you of music from those movies.... shouldn't it be the other way around? This is kind of like when I played "Eine kleine nachtmusik" for my music students, and they claimed it was "Baby Einstein" music.

Edited July 29, 2012 by Tez

[Tone Quality Matters]

The lovefest for Crown is truly based on the quality of brass sound and approach to the instrument. They really can't be touched in this area.

We all know they are dirty, although I seeing the dots clean up on the whiplash jazzrunning sets. They still need to clean from dot to dot. Lots of control issues. If they square their shoulders better ... it will at least clean the top half of the corps and make things more readable while they're in transition. It's getting there.... so I see the light at the end of the tunnel potentially.

Percussion did some hosing and even that was really bad tonight. I'd like to offer that the battery had a sub-par run by their current standards last night. I still don't see them getting higher than 5th in percussion by finals ... but corps have won with 5th place drumlines in the past.

The big Fanfare section that is extended ... what I asked for in June is now becoming more clear. The body work on the ground is not effective ... or not as effective as they had hoped .. and for the hardliners .. it's offensive (not even borderline). This chunk of the show could really go places if they marched about 10 more sets and stayed off the ground ... keeping it classic drum corps for a classic drum corps moment. It's not bad by any means .. but it could definitely be much better.

They still have the big issue of visual variety. Too much big spacing and block/grid sets in this show. The field coverage is massive .. they win the trophy for super flight ..... but it's missing the mark.

I won't comment on guard ... I never really see them in this show due to the heavy integration and lack of color change from the corps proper. They just blend too well. The cube section (where the brass are mostly on the ground) takes way too long to develop .. and the message gets lost.

Just some key points and thoughts on what the staff can do to tweak the show (not that they'll ever read this). But those are my thoughts on how to make this show a winner and a classic. Either way ... I'm in awe of this brass line .. they're velocity while playing ... and the total musical package.

cliff notes: Make the visual compensate for the slower paced music .. and this show will cook. And clean it up!

Well said. It is refreshing to see someone give their take without just getting on here and saying it sucks.

[Tone Quality Matters]

Many of the people commenting on Crown in this post should be glad that a couple of die hard Crown loyalist are at Nightbeat tonight and not on DCP, otherwise you all would be getting a lot of negativity from a least one person who bothers me on a continuous basis :P. Some people take loyalty to their corps as a life and death issue. SO STUPID!!!!!

And some people like yourself, marched with Crown and have no loyalty at all.

[NeutralNovice]

"Fanfare for the Common Man" is one of the most famous orchestral compositions of the 20th century.... by arguably the top American composer of the 20th century. So I find it just a little strange that it "reminds" you of music from those movies.... shouldn't it be the other way around? This is kind of like when I played "Eine kleine nachtmusik" for my music students, and they claimed it was "Baby Einstein" music.

For the record, I'm not very musically educated. Never got into band-stuff until my Junior year in high school and I was in our marching band's color guard/aux unit. I really only wanted to be in band because they were going to Hawaii that year. After doing all of the band competitions and going to Hawaii, I pretty much fell in love with the marching band and field show concepts. The following year, I became a bass drummer but never really learned how to read music or do anything like that. I was pretty much relegated to doing very simple tasks and/or just memorizing my part. I never took any classes on music appreciation. The music I grew up with were hip hop & alternative. I don't think I've ever heard Fanfare for the Common Man until Crown unless I just completely forgot or whatever.

Just so everyone knows, even though I've been following the activity since 2006, everything every year still seems so new to me. When I watch any show, I try to just take it in, knowing that I won't really recognize the vast majority of the music selected. Even now, using SCV 2012 as an example, I can't tell when they are playing Mars or Jupiter--why? Because I've never heard either of those two pieces until this year, when SCV made their rep announcement. This is why I find it hard to comment on posts where people talk about the transition from Mars to Jupiter, etc because I can't tell when those transitions come into play.

Man, after reading what I just wrote above, I feel pretty dumb now when it comes to music but that's just me. Again, I take shows as they come at me and make an opinion then--I either love it, like it, or don't like it. I don't think I hate any shows.

@DCImonkey

Unfortunately, there are MANY shows that I'd like to see live but at this point in my life, it's just impossible. And for sure, live is ALWAYS way better than VOD/live feed.

I'm sure Crown will sound super great when it's live but then again, for me at least, so will all other top tier shows. I saw BD online first, through youtube I believe, and was just okay with their show. After seeing it live, it was absolutely awesome!

But since I cannot see Crown or any other remaining shows live, I will have to take it as just that.

With that said, I truly hope that either:

DCI Champs comes to Northern California once over the next few years

or

SFO Airport (or any other Bay Area airport for that matter) has a direct nonstop flight to Indianapolis. I hate connecting, multi-stop flights; I try to keep taking off and landing at a bare minimum.

Edited July 29, 2012 by NeutralNovice

[Tez]

For the record, I'm not very musically educated. Never got into band-stuff until my Junior year in high school and I was in our marching band's color guard/aux unit. I really only wanted to be in band because they were going to Hawaii that year. After doing all of the band competitions and going to Hawaii, I pretty much fell in love with the marching band and field show concepts. The following year, I became a bass drummer but never really learned how to read music or do anything like that. I was pretty much relegated to doing very simple tasks and/or just memorizing my part. I never took any classes on music appreciation. The music I grew up with were hip hop & alternative. I don't think I've ever heard Fanfare for the Common Man until Crown unless I just completely forgot or whatever.

Just so everyone knows, even though I've been following the activity since 2006, everything every year still seems so new to me. When I watch any show, I try to just take it in, knowing that I won't really recognize the vast majority of the music selected. Even now, using SCV 2012 as an example, I can't tell when they are playing Mars or Jupiter--why? Because I've never heard either of those two pieces until this year, when SCV made their rep announcement. This is why I find it hard to comment on posts where people talk about the transition from Mars to Jupiter, etc because I can't tell when those transitions come into play.

Man, after reading what I just wrote above, I feel pretty dumb now when it comes to music but that's just me. Again, I take shows as they come at me and make an opinion then--I either love it, like it, or don't like it. I don't think I hate any shows.

Hey.. that's cool man, sorry if my earlier post made you feel 'dumb' or anything like that, not the intent. You have just as much of a right to be a fan of, and state your opinion about drum corps as the most musically educated of us. That's one of the things that is so great about this activity is how it appeals to people from so many different backgrounds. I will suggest however, that if you are so inclined.... check out some of the source material for shows each year. It may bring your appreciation/enjoyment of the activity to an even higher level. It is cool to be able to appreciate how music is adapted to the modern drum corps in a variety of fashions, from sticking close to the original (Crown's show this year), to being highly "arranged" (Madison Scout's show), to being a giant mixture of different pieces (Blue Devils). But of course, this is in no way required to enjoy drum corps as you have found out.... but it could be something to consider for future seasons.

[OrlandoContraAlum]

DCI Champs comes to Northern California once over the next few years

or

SFO Airport (or any other Bay Area airport for that matter) has a direct nonstop flight to Indianapolis. I hate connecting, multi-stop flights; I try to keep taking off and landing at a bare minimum.

Well, as long as you have just as many landings as takeoffs, you are good!

(from someone that was deathly afraid of flying for a while...)

[MotorCityMusician]

I haven't read every post in this thread....

But I have one question... For those of you that do not enjoy Crown this year, have you seen the show live and in person or only on your computer or in the theater?

I say this because even though I am outspoken against BD this year for their overrated show..... their performance live in person when I finally saw them last night was amazing. THEY are performing the #### out of that show. I have an issue with the show design and that will never go away, but they really just stood out.

i guess my 2nd question is, Do you not like the design or the performance?

...and honestly if you don't, it doesn't bother me. I have disliked other popular shows. SCV 09, PR 96, etc. I just didn't get it. To each their own. It's ok to have varying tastes. <see that BD fans>

Answer one i saw it during practice around early July

Answer two After seeing the opener all fast paced and in your face i dont like where it goes from there (it does follow fanfare really well) I feel like the drill inbetween opener and the cube needs a little umph.

(I love listening to it in my car because all i think about is the music)

Edited July 30, 2012 by MotorCityMusician