I Love Crown -definately the gold

[chris ncsu]

Cadets look like a glass ceiling of third to me, at this point. Technically strong, but the design is almost stubbornly simplistic compared to these two, and I think they could be taking more chances with the Side x Side concept. It looks a lot like ordinary drill with occasional obvious divisions.

I feel this way, too, at this point. BUT -- let's not forget that they won with a pretty traditional show 2 years ago. More often than not, it does seem that a show needs to be a spectacle to win, but it's not always the case that the BIGGEST spectacle wins.

I want Cadets velocity as much as anyone -- that to me is what this show is missing, and is one of the things holding me and many of us back from being on the bandwagon. It's probably been since 2005-2006 that they've tried this.

[IllianaLancerContra]

2-7, vk, KR

Muchachos & Belleville Black Knights (still the best uniform ever)

Class A Champs - Illiana Lancers

[SACMellos2010]

You must have really been deep in the scotch!!!!!

[NakedEye]

I feel this way, too, at this point. BUT -- let's not forget that they won with a pretty traditional show 2 years ago. More often than not, it does seem that a show needs to be a spectacle to win, but it's not always the case that the BIGGEST spectacle wins.

I want Cadets velocity as much as anyone -- that to me is what this show is missing, and is one of the things holding me and many of us back from being on the bandwagon. It's probably been since 2005-2006 that they've tried this.

Yeah, but the Angels and Demons had some real WOW moments, and a few areas that were a creative stretch for them, such as the chaotic opening, the really good use of the split uniform, etc. The overall show was traditional, but it struck me as being outside of their usual comfort zone in key parts. BD also had a design misfire that year with the too-striped, too-cubed Bacharach show. I think they did use the freestanding poles for the first time then, though, and have refined the idea to much better effect this season.

Ironically enough, I think some of the general ideas Cadets premiered in 2005-06 with mixed results (and later abandoned) are now being used very well by both Crown and BD. Crown's voice sections are what I always wanted to see when Cadets first experimented with the concept - use spoken word as an instrument in the musical texture (not as an After School Special voiceover). Likewise, the notion of the field as a multi-faceted sea of activity, with numerous focal points, was tried with the 2006 pink table mess. BD now uses a related approach, but the overall sequencing of it seems a much stronger design statement.

[c.l.]

I completely agree ... especially in this case. The voice over in the source material is from and old wise man. Hearing a younger person recite those lines causes some of the significance to be lost, in my opinion.

This is where WGI will always have an upper hand on DCI imo. SCV winterguard used a professional orator I believe last year , 57 years old. He was technically a performer even though he didn't touch equipment, and there are no age restrictions for world class guards. Here's my thought, if they were to use an older narrator for a field show it shouldn't count as a field performer if they were used only for that purpose. Not that I like narration or pre-recorded voice in my shows, but if you use it use it the best way you can. I guess you would just have to find a way not to pay for it.

[skywhopper]

One of my favorite effects EVER was the use of the hoops by their guard last year. How would they top that? By cutting the hoops in half and using both pieces. In just a few seconds I saw them represent undulating waves, animal tusks and bows and arrows. Then they threw them sky-high. Just fantastic. Why is no one else being this inventive?

Well, I'd say most of the world class corps are being just as inventive in any given year. Cavies on stilts and upside down. Cadets as toy soldiers, or playing Christmas music. Blue Knights as ballet dancing space aliens. Mandarins' tribal drum finale. Vanguard in hell. Crown mashing up Rachmaninoff and Queen. Teal Sound integrating electric guitar into drum corps successfully. Blue Stars guard twirling with their feet while in straightjackets. Jersey Surf's banana sticks.

My feeling is that while Blue Devils come up with similarly interesting ideas, their bigger design strategies have been pretty static for the past five or six years. It makes sense that the corps on top would do the least amount of tweaking to their formula, but I'd like to see them come up with a show that would thrill both the judges and a broader audience. That's a real challenge.

Edited June 24, 2013 by skywhopper

[skywhopper]

Crown's voice sections are what I always wanted to see when Cadets first experimented with the concept - use spoken word as an instrument in the musical texture (not as an After School Special voiceover).

Agreed. The counting-as-percussion in Crown's drum break is the most effective use of amplified voice I've heard. IIRC, Cadets did a voice "drum" break with the battery in 2005, is that the right year? That was fun, but not something I want to see more than once a decade or so.

[NakedEye]

Well, I'd say most of the world class corps are being just as inventive in any given year. Cavies on stilts and upside down. Cadets as toy soldiers, or playing Christmas music. Blue Knights as ballet dancing space aliens. Mandarins' tribal drum finale. Vanguard in hell. Crown mashing up Tchaikovsky and Queen. Teal Sound integrating electric guitar into drum corps successfully. Blue Stars guard twirling with their feet while in straightjackets. Jersey Surf's banana sticks.

We are defining inventive in a different manner. To me personally, it is something that is deceptively simple, but introduces a surprising element that is visually perfectly matched to a musical moment. In your list, I would consider most of those fun or interesting, with the stilts being the closest to inventive, though I ended up wanting them to do more than walk around on them.

Besides the hoops, which were not a new idea at all, but used so effectively and with such interesting movement that they almost channeled floating soap bubbles, I would say the silver poles used by PR in '96 for a strobe light effect, and my favorite, the seagull props from '89 Suncoast are other examples. For me anyway, this stuff doesn't come along that often, but when it does, it makes me stop and appreciate how surprising and effective it seems at the time.

[chris ncsu]

I think BD's drum break, and what's going on visually there (esp. with the guard's half-circles) is really great. BD always does really interesting things with their guard.

[George Dixon]

Yeah, but the Angels and Demons had some real WOW moments, and a few areas that were a creative stretch for them, such as the chaotic opening, the really good use of the split uniform, etc. The overall show was traditional, but it struck me as being outside of their usual comfort zone in key parts. BD also had a design misfire that year with the too-striped, too-cubed Bacharach show. I think they did use the freestanding poles for the first time then, though, and have refined the idea to much better effect this season.

Ironically enough, I think some of the general ideas Cadets premiered in 2005-06 with mixed results (and later abandoned) are now being used very well by both Crown and BD. Crown's voice sections are what I always wanted to see when Cadets first experimented with the concept - use spoken word as an instrument in the musical texture (not as an After School Special voiceover). Likewise, the notion of the field as a multi-faceted sea of activity, with numerous focal points, was tried with the 2006 pink table mess. BD now uses a related approach, but the overall sequencing of it seems a much stronger design statement.

Totally respect differing opinions. Personally I think the Cadets program this year is a masterpiece of design and all the captions are (will be) extremely strong. I don't see Crown topping them come finals (due to percussion) and I am 50/50 on BD at this point. Both BD & Cadets have a lot of dirt and a lot of things to fix.