Fran Haring Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Blue Devils 1996 was a pretty great way to open the show. I remember when I first saw them at some small show in mid-July. I was teaching a Div. 3 corps at the time, and hanging out on the track with my future wife and her good friend who was on staff with a WC corps. Blue Devils were setting up, and our friend looked up and asked us if we'd seen BD yet. We answered know and she just smirked, encouraging us to sit front/center as close as we could get on the track without being disruptive. When that opening phrase hit, not only did it make my wife jump a bit, but it made the hair on my arms & neck stand up! I should've known something (glorious) was going to be up when our friend put her hands up to her ears right before the show started. I announced a DCI show that summer in NJ.... my seat was right in front of BD's horn line when they set up. WOW, was that first impact intense!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjaydub Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 I know this show is mostly known for its ending, but 1996 Phantom Regiment's opening to A Defiant's Heart... the field entrance, incredibly timed movements, all black unis, and haunting build to the intro of Ballet Suite.. simply breathtaking! To be fair, I'm a Shostakovich fan but this just lays me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swmstom Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 99 Scouts with the drill move..WOWZA. 08 Phantom with the herald trumpets 14 BD....amaze ballz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Channel3 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Madison 2013's opening rotating company front was a force of nature, with ineluctable marrow-deep power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmf2fZ8XHMw 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skevinp Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 I know this show is mostly known for its ending, but 1996 Phantom Regiment's opening to A Defiant's Heart... the field entrance, incredibly timed movements, all black unis, and haunting build to the intro of Ballet Suite.. simply breathtaking! To be fair, I'm a Shostakovich fan but this just lays me out. I agree. That long, long, long, gradual build. It gives me chills. Now that we have agreed the beginning and end are awesome, I'm not sure why DCI chooses the middle to play prior to the theater broadcasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffe77 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Here are some OG fav's for me not mentioned. 1990 BD - Tommy 1991 BD - Commencement 1993 BD - Don Ellis 1987 SCV - Russian Christmas 1987 Garfield aka The Cadets - Appalachian Spring 1995 Madison Scouts 1989 SCV - Phantom of the Opera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 (edited) I agree. That long, long, long, gradual build. It gives me chills. Now that we have agreed the beginning and end are awesome, I'm not sure why DCI chooses the middle to play prior to the theater broadcasts. That is such a great example of a "slow burn/build" opening phrase: good visual/music coordination + amazingly controlled sound of the brass line is off the hook! It seems like that sort of long, building development is rare nowadays (it may not be, but at the very least a long building development as well-designed & performed as Phantom 96 is extremely rare). Seeing that Finals night, sitting in the stadium, as the corps was building up to that upper brass phrase around 2:15ish in "taaaaa ta ta ta taaaaaa" it was obvious that even at this early point in the show we were seeing something special! I suspect there's no WAY that opening couple of minutes could ever be done in that same way now. It's such a slow burn, visually I can't fathom that would get credit Edited May 3, 2016 by perc2100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Another one for me is 1991 SCV. That entire show is, IMO, maybe the best example of marching percussion arranging in modern DCI (still), with the inventive use of sound effects, staging, and really utilizing the common timbres of the battery (especially upper) to marvelous effect. And the way the corps started the show, with (IIRC) the entire brass, guard, and drum line off the field and the sprinting onto the field as the drums were mimicking the sound of helicopters (not only an integral sound effect to the musical, but awesome foreshadowing of "The Fall Of Saigon"). Seeing that show, to me, was integral. That show was my first live DCI show, and seeing that in person almost knocked me off my seat in awe, and that excitement built right from the get go with that opening moment 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tesmusic Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 2001 Madison. A much undervalued corps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shempy Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 A super underrated show: Madison 2007, "Unbound"The full company line that marches across the field to "Uninvited," slowly losing members in statuesque poses until they all make the 90 degree turn in one sweeping motion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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