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Murfreesboro Mayhem


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Crown wins GE visual and music but is third in the visual and music captions.

I get that Crown fans want to diminish the importance of the percussion score, but I think last night is just another reminder how hard it is to win when all captions aren't solid. I would be worried about falling to 3rd overall. Cadets' achilles has been their guard and MA, but even they have had good nights and been competitive in those areas. Crown's percussion hasn't.

Here's to 14 days until finals!!

Edited by chaddyt
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VK used silly props expertly - we all knew the shark was a joke. All of their props were meant to be silly.

This Evil Queen that Phantom has is the all time winner of the "Your Kidding....!?" award. It's not meant to be silly but that close-up during yesterday's broadcast was quite a surprise. I watched the close-up again this morning and I'm still shaking my head.

It makes Little Jeffrey look like Einstein (without the beach).

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The Evil Queen is weird, but mostly because it feels awkward. I think it could be an interesting addition if it were more expertly constructed and if she could do more than vaguely wave her arms at mid-torso-level, or even say, move in sync with the music. Better yet, she needs to be part of the drill at some point, rather than just standing in the back looking befuddled.

So: great idea, poorly executed.

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There seems to be a general consensus among those that do not care for the programs presented by the Blue Devils over the past few seasons that even though they don't particularly enjoy the shows the Blue Devils are still innovative, original and unexpected. I have to disagree. At this point we know exactly what we are going to get from the Blue Devils before their program is even announced. A concept that while interesting doesn't necessarily gel with what is on the field, Visual that while clean is still composed of scatter drills, rotating blocks, and follow the leader. Highly technical musical passages played by both brass and percussion with feet firmly planted still. A highly skilled guard in garishly unconnected costumes more memorable for their ability to emote or stretch than any actual equipment work. Props and prop pushers (or as they are known in the theatrical community stage hands) relegated to pushing around visual distractions from one place to another.

And finally and most importantly...... A complete and utter lack of connection to the people in the stands.

So I ask the question..... What is original, innovative or unexpected about the program decisions of the Blue Devils if you already know precisely what you are going to see before they even enter the field?

Many have spoken of what happened at the premiere of The Rite of Spring among the rude, obnoxious, and almost riotous audience members the evening of that first performance.

It could have been worse......... the audience might have responded with indifference and polite golf claps.

Edited by bluesman
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Very true, and that's also why it's not smart to place your faith or enjoyment in the Enjoy what you enjoy, don't let the judges and opinions of others determine your drum corps enjoyment.

Absolutely. Music is always a matter of personal tastes. We don't cede that personal choice to anyone else, ie judges, peers, parents, school officials, or anyone else for that matter.

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Without intending any such judgment on BD's show, I wonder: given that not all innovations are good, what are the most notable experiments in corps history that never led anywhere? Maybe I should start a new thread on that question.

The TOC experiment looks like its a dud from what its architects seemed to imply it would lead to.

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And just as Cadets and Crown had gotten comfortable being competitive equals in the last week, here comes da Blue Devils to one-point them.

If performance order truly affects things (I'm dubious), it won't be any easier to guess the effect tonight. Cadets on very early, BD in the middle, Crown last.

Disappointed that Cadets couldn't maintain momentum in GE and marching scores, and the smaller gap they had achieved in guard scores lately. GH says some performance and communication flaws still need to be worked through, and Medea could have been performed better (some here noted flag phasing there, at least).

BD running the gamut on visual last night, something we're used to from them, except for the occasional off year. Consistency across captions gives them a great chance of gold.

Maybe Crown's new ending sat well with the effect judges, but drug down their visual a bit. Ouch, drums possibly below 6th this year...

People love to still call SCV a darkhorse for a medal -- they're going to have to show some movement in the scores or that'll remain a fantasy. It's nothing to be sad about -- some of their 4th and 5th place shows are among my favorites from them (2000 and 2001; 2002 for brass and drums; 2003 for drums and general kickbuttedness...).

Sometimes we extrapolate too much from one show and recaps. We have three corps all within 1 point of each other with two regionals left and then INDY. Some have just made changes and are cleaning (Cadets, Crown) BD made changes and are cleaner. At any time, the C and C can clean their feet and overtake the GE caption edging out BD. So many possibilities and still a few weeks. Not sure I would start engraving Blue Devils on the trophy just yet.

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I'm sure that most people need to have their ego stroked enough to hear that the masses enjoy what they're performing. But it's just not why I wanted to play in drum corps. Keep in mind that I aged out 30 years ago ..... This dinosaur just appreciates what ALL of these kids do .... PERIOD!

You merged together " appreciate what all these kids do ", and " enjoy what a Corps is performing ". The implication seems to be that you somehow believe that if an audience member does not like a Corps show, he or she does not " appreciate what all these kids do ". With all due respect to your assessment, I reject that observation out of hand. I know lots of audience goers that might dislike a Corps show yet still very much " appreciate what all these kids do ". I'm in that camp as well. I appreciate " what all these kids do ", but I don't enjoy all the Corps shows the same. For me to state that I do would be disingenuous.

Edited by BRASSO
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my advice to everyone is to not extrapolate too much from ONE show's results

performance order, changes, "Bad run" or a given judge or judging panel can make a world of difference

IF BD runs the table the whole weekend - tonight & the regional Sunday - THEN we have a trend

One show does not a trend make

IMHO.

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