BRASSO Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 (edited) I've said it before and I'll say it again, The Madison Scouts have become a caricature of themselves; trying so hard to have the image and the show designs of the glorious Scouts of the past that it has become almost stale and comical. I preach all the time about the lack of individual identity in modern drum corps; but the Scouts have taken that individual identity to the extreme and have not evolved. That's why they are where they are. Preach on Brother Shortn' Sour !!...... Preach on ! :soapbox:/> ( I'll take Madison Scouts brand of Drum Corps " as is ", thank you very much instead of " evolving" into God-only-knows-who-and-what-it-is. ) Edited August 4, 2013 by BRASSO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corps8294 Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Preach on Brother Shortn' Sour !!...... Preach on ! :soapbox:/>/> ( I'll take Madison Scouts brand of Drum Corps " as is ", thank you very much instead of " evolving" into God-only-knows-who-and-what-it-is. ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nine White Russians Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 I've said it before and I'll say it again, The Madison Scouts have become a caricature of themselves; trying so hard to have the image and the show designs of the glorious Scouts of the past that it has become almost stale and comical. I preach all the time about the lack of individual identity in modern drum corps; but the Scouts have taken that individual identity to the extreme and have not evolved. That's why they are where they are. Yeah, at all the shows I've been to this summer, I'm constantly hearing from fellow audience members how cliche and stale the Madison Scouts are with their un-evolved nostalgic shows! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nine White Russians Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 The brass program has come "leaps and bounds" in the last 4 years. Same for percussion. I believe that Mason knows he needs the guard program to hit another level, and he needs a drill that is top 5 worthy. The later 2 things are what really separate them from the Cavaliers. Rosemont had a much weaker brass line this year (younger, less DCI experience), and although their overall show is better than last year's it's still weak when compared to past productions. But where the Cavaliers have separated themselves from Madison is with drill, guard, and marching excellence. They have good percussion, but not a ton better than the Scouts; and Madison has better brass. So to me I think they need a true top-5 drill, better guard design and technique, and they need to clean a more demanding show. If we look at design alone, I'd say Spirit has a much better design and I would put them above the Scouts if we were ranking only on design. Sadly for Spirit, they have not been able to clean their show; but from top to bottom Spirit has the better product. This is not a rip at Madison, but simply a comparison and an example of why I feel they are struggling from a score standpoint. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Yeah, at all the shows I've been to this summer, I'm constantly hearing from fellow audience members how cliche and stale the Madison Scouts are with their un-evolved nostalgic shows! Scouts are crowd favorites quite often, they've got that part of the game licked, but for all the scouts fans spending ample time raging over SCORES at this point in the game, it's fair to ask if maybe their approach should start attempting to merge their entertainment value (established) with design that doesn't sell the corps competitively short. I'm sure there are gobs of fans that would love nothing more than Malaguena and spats from Madison for their yearly fix of drum corps nostalgia, but if we're being honest about it nostalgia gets competitively lost on DCI in fairly short order. The design team needs to find a way to do both. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vferrera Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 The brass program has come "leaps and bounds" in the last 4 years. I agree with this. Scouts have a full, mature sound comparable to the top 6. Cavaliers do not. No hate, but, objectively, they have a relatively weak brass section. Yet, A. Lo gave Madison a 17.9 in brass and Cavaliers a 17.7. Now, Cavaliers may be playing much better than they were earlier in the season, but there is still a very clear difference and that should translate into a bigger spread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Yeah, at all the shows I've been to this summer, I'm constantly hearing from fellow audience members how cliche and stale the Madison Scouts are with their un-evolved nostalgic shows! First of all, I was in Lawrence and Allentown and they complained at both shows about Madison's nostalgic and stale shows--by constant standing ovations! We must attend the same shows. Second anyone who complains about nostalgia is wrong about this show. I firsts started following drum corps in 1975 and I do not recall Madison ever playing "You'll Never Walk Alone" during the DCI era and from what I can see, it was last performed in competition in 1971. So anyone 50 or younger probably does not remember it being performed. There's no way back in the day they were allowed to sing, so the arrangement is totally new. All the other show material is new original, and effective. I will have to say that I was disappointed with Madison's placement last evening. I am a BAC fan, and I thought BAC's show was phenomenal last night, so I am biased, but Madison moved me once again. I do not think either Madison or BAC should have placed behind Cavies. However, since this is a Madison thread, I won't say which of the two I would have put in third place. However, as long as Madison or BAC is in the top 7 at finals, I'll be satisfied. Personally, I think this is Madison's best show since 1999, which is one of my two favorite Madison shows, the other being 1985. Oh wait, that includes Gershwina nd Slaughter, I guess I'm being too nostalgic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madalumni Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 Scouts are crowd favorites quite often, they've got that part of the game licked, but for all the scouts fans spending ample time raging over SCORES at this point in the game, it's fair to ask if maybe their approach should start attempting to merge their entertainment value (established) with design that doesn't sell the corps competitively short. I'm sure there are gobs of fans that would love nothing more than Malaguena and spats from Madison for their yearly fix of drum corps nostalgia, but if we're being honest about it nostalgia gets competitively lost on DCI in fairly short order. The design team needs to find a way to do both. These are good points, and I think the current design team at Madison is attempting to find that balance. Maybe they aren't there yet, but quite frankly, I am very happy with this year's offering and I'm not really bothered by or concerned with where they end up placement wise. Like someone else said on here recently, I'm just happy they are in the conversation and that they are winning the hearts of the people. But as far as competition, I've realized that At the end of the day, they could find the absolute perfect balance and have the absolute best talent, and still there could be many Corps that are just simply better. And that is good. It is good for all these Corps to be so insanely competative. It inspires not only the audience member, but hopefully all the Corps to reach higher and produce more greatness. One thing that really impressed me this summer, is how humble and professional all the young members are these days, that includes members of the Scouts, Blue stars, Troopers, Cavaliers...and they have camaraderie with each other too...but none of them seem overly concerned with scores/placements, but much more with perfecting their own game. When I marched, it seemed like there was so much more focus on "defeating the enemy" even the our Director preached against that. Anyway, I'm rambling here. We'll see where the Scouts end up, but so far, this 75th anniversary season has been a smashing success as far as I'm concerned! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobjective Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 I had to go back take off the green colored glasses and objectively look at the corps ahead of Madison. I looked at cavaliers and SCV. And it is true that although the cavaliers are boring and esoteric at times, they have a better overall visual package than scouts. SCV is not so boring musically and has a much better visual program as well. I feel that until Madison does get their visual program on track their horns and percussion will not get their just due scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fr. Andrew Posted August 4, 2013 Share Posted August 4, 2013 What is the drum major doing to the four guardsmens at the beginning of the show? It looks like he is pounding their chests. There is a custom in the Army Airborne school, after the graduation jump the Airborne wings are pounding into the chest without the keepers on the back. That means the pins are going into your skin. That is the only thing I can come up with. Anyone have an insight? Hu-yah.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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