Crown is... just okay.

[skywhopper]

Regarding Crown's visual sloppiness, the judges seem to disagree with most of us on that topic. Crown has beaten everyone but Blue Devils in Visual Proficiency in every show with the exception of the season opener in Akron. And they've never lost to Blue Devils in VP by more than 0.4.

They're similarly strong (not quite as much but nearly so) in Visual Analysis and GE Visual.

So... I have no idea really what goes into those two captions, but I'm thinking what we think we're seeing maybe doesn't match up to what the judges are looking for.

Edited July 30, 2012 by skywhopper

[jasgre2000]

Regarding Crown's visual sloppiness, the judges seem to disagree with most of us on that topic. Crown has beaten everyone but Blue Devils in Visual Proficiency in every show with the exception of the season opener in Akron. And they've never lost to Blue Devils in VP by more than 0.4.

They're similarly strong (not quite as much but nearly so) in Visual Analysis and GE Visual.

So... I have no idea really what goes into those two captions, but I'm thinking what we think we're seeing maybe doesn't match up to what the judges are looking for.

I don't know that it is particularly sloppy (though I saw several pretty obvious areas of sloppiness during the Atlanta show). I think it could just be better than it is currently, which means they have a lot of room to pick up points against BD.

[George Dixon]

I don't think anyone is missing that point. It's regularly been acknowledged that they have a difficult show (perhaps too difficult). The fact they're not quite pulling off those "super human", "super fast drill moves" makes it look very "human". Visual isn't the only issue though.

There's still some time left though...

I agree with everything except the "I don't think anyone is missing that point" -- seems like several folks in this thread are saying they are just running around "for no point" "doesn't fit theme" -- but yup - most of us see the difficulty and the stretch they have in front of them the next 2 weeks.

I personally think they will be unstoppable in the end UNLESS percussion drops too much to BD in tenths.

[Ch1k3n]

My friend i brought to a show earlier this season wanted to see the top corps and i showed him BD and CC. I was going to quote him but ill sum it up. Opener is really good but drops after that and said he doesnt like the drill. I can listen to this show on my CD but watching and listening it doesnt appeal to me(does that sound weird?). Not taking anything away from the performers because they are doing a great job.

How can you not like the rotating box at the end??? I thought the drill flowed well with the music as well. Still don't get the middle part though XD

[supersop]

After reading the two responses to my post on Page 2 .... I realize I came off as a semi hater. Nothing could be further from the truth. I really wish this corps to be wearing gold around their neck in 2 weeks. I have some strong ties to the staff of Crown, having marched with some of them. Because of that, I question their decisions on design sometimes ... because I know who their influences were when they were coming up the ranks to where they are now.

I do think this show can be tweaked to the point that it is considered a great like SCV 87, Garfield of the 80's, PR 89, 96 and 08 and Star 93. It's just that close to being a part of that great company. I wish them and BD and all the rest of the corps nothing but the best. I just find myself being blunt with all of the corps on their design decisions .... It's just who I am and how I do.

Edited July 31, 2012 by supersop

[HockeyDad]

If Crown is "just okay" then the bar sure has been raised, because my mouth was hanging open during most of their show, not believing what I was seeing. And for the poster who just doesn't like Fanfare for the Common Man, well, snobby snobberton, I thought the effect of tymps in both endzones and midfield was amazingly clever. And their brass has been other-worldly for several years now. Guess I'm too much of a simpleton to understand that I should be holding my nose at this show. You know...they have "so much visual dirt" and all.

[Corbin]

After reading the two responses to my post on Page 2 .... I realize I came off as a semi hater. Nothing could be further from the truth. I really wish this corps to be wearing gold around their neck in 2 weeks. I have some strong ties to the staff of Crown, having marched with some of them. Because of that, I question their decisions on design sometimes ... because I know who their influences were when they were coming up the ranks to where they are now.

I do think this show can be tweaked to the point that it is considered a great like SCV 87, Garfield of the 80's, PR 89, 96 and 08 and Star 93. It's just that close to being a part of that great company. I wish them and BD and all the rest of the corps nothing but the best. I just find myself being blunt with all of the corps on their design decisions .... It's just who I am and how I do.

Be glad you didn't march with Crown. Otherwise, the Crown blind loyalist would be taking a lot of frustration out on you like they do on me for saying the same general thing you have in this message.

[Catan]

I saw Crown at NightBeat last night, and enjoyed the show tremendously. They are doing some crazy things out there and are really entertaining the crowd. That being said:

I was absolutely shocked at Crown's scores. From an individual visual standpoint, they are VASTLY inferior to both BD and Phantom. Yes I know they have a difficult program, but you get credit for that earlier when the show is dirty with a month left in the season. The show is still very dirty - the marchers look completely out of control during many sections of the show. Breakdown of technique is frequent.

From a brass standpoint, Crown's quality is unmatched for the majority of the show. What irks me is a complete breakdown in performance during the closer. It sounded like a different corps, and Nola Jones DID NOT seem to take that into consideration at all when judging brass. While Crown achieves a higher level for most of their show, corps like BD, Phantom, and Bloo maintain a constant quality of sound throughout the show, which I think ultimately should be rewarded more heavily. Crown's brass performance in the closer was easily a 5th place performance. I think BD has a quality slightly below that of Crown's best but is incredibly consistent.

From a GE standpoint, I think their difficult drill has much less effect, and their color palette is quite bland. From a GE visual standpoint, I think they should be in at least 3rd, maybe 4th right now, but I'm no judge, and GE is way more subjective.

Bottom line: I really enjoyed the show, but I think it is somewhat laughable that Crown was even within a point of BD. BD is on a completely different level with an incredibly difficult and effective program.

[hardlyworking]

If Crown is "just okay" then the bar sure has been raised, because my mouth was hanging open during most of their show, not believing what I was seeing. And for the poster who just doesn't like Fanfare for the Common Man, well, snobby snobberton, I thought the effect of tymps in both endzones and midfield was amazingly clever. And their brass has been other-worldly for several years now. Guess I'm too much of a simpleton to understand that I should be holding my nose at this show. You know...they have "so much visual dirt" and all.

Musical dirt, too. Saw them live at the Dome and it sounded like there were three/four consecutive timpani strikes...and let's not forget the numerous flammed attacks from the brass. Not holding my nose or anything...just describing what I heard.

Signed,

Snobby Snobberton, apparently.

[supersop]

Be glad you didn't march with Crown. Otherwise, the Crown blind loyalist would be taking a lot of frustration out on you like they do on me for saying the same general thing you have in this message.

To be fair .. in the mid 2000's .. I was extremely harsh with Cadets. To the point I disowned the corps as not being the corps I was a part of. I didn't get much flack from my fellow alums. I got some emails trying to discuss things with me ... maybe enlightening me a little bit .. but the fact was, I didn't agree with the direction of the organization .. and every year got worse for a while there. When all was said and done, there was still a healthy respect for differing opinions amongst ourselves. I think that's how it should be for all corps supporters and descentors within their alumni. The truth is .. we all want the best for our corps. Sometimes you have to drop a bomb to get people to realize that something isn't right with the state of things.

I don't think this is the case with Crown at all. They are a great corps. They are still finding their groove in the design captions as far as I'm concerned. Between them and 2 or 3 other corps in WC ... they are trying their best to be conventional for the older fans and alums while still being modern and competitive. It's a delicate balance .. and I think they're doing the best they can.

As for me ... I want desperately for them to get it right .. so a show like this year WILL be considered an all time great. That's hard to achieve. VERY HARD. Anyone that posts something that could be construed as negative .... all they're really trying to do is help the corps (hoping someone from the corps is reading all of our rubbish). At least we can hope.