Intrigue In Indy

[jwillis35]

By the way, I saw a video of Madison's show earlier today. Not bad at all. Dirty, and lots to fix with some clutter in the arrangements and transitions, but I predict this show will gel into a Fan Favorite and may push it's way up the ladder. Tough to tell now, but I have a feeling about that show.

[henry7184]

Having watched a video of last night's performance (BLOOO), and having seen a number of the posted spring preview shows, including BD, Cavaliers, Crown, Madison, Crossmen, and others, I completely disagree with your notion here.

Cadets started in 4th in 2011, then went on to win.

Now, this show will take some time. It does have some weaknesses, but all fixable. I think the props need looked at. They need a more professional look, like those of Bluecoats, Crown, and BD. The theme needs fleshed out a bit more as well. That will come with show edits, tweaks, and cuts. But make no mistake here, I believe the Cadets likely have the most challenging brass book out there, perhaps percussion too, and the music is really good and fun to listen to. Once clean that will help their music GE scores as well as performance. They are marching a killer visual book that simply needs much cleaning and a bit of clarification. The guard is sloppy, but I think they are exposed and integrated well.

What I dislike the most is not the theme so much, but the lack of color. Outside of that, this show has a lot of potential and when clean could become a beast to be reckoned with.

Well, Cadets had a magnificent show in 2011 (musically and visually). A show that started the season with great potential, and a much better design than the 2016 show. Other than a fantastic brass and percussion line, I just don't really see much potential with the 2016show, as written. Visually, it is just a poor design. They are going to struggle with GE, Visual and Guard this season, IMO. Placing high in Brass and Percussion is not going to keep them afloat overall. I do think they will remain top 5 this year, but without some pretty big visual changes, I don't see them catching Bluecoats or Crown (they just have much better products).

Edited June 24, 2016 by henry7184

[drummer5485]

I've spoken with corps people and that is a new one to me. But if someone really wants to go there, I'll add to the fire. Both Hillary and Cavaliers were from Park Ridge.

Agreed. As an FMM of The Cavaliers, and still very much in contact with many of the Admin and Staff of the Corps, no one has ever said they were supporting Hillary. It was all just examples of propaganda. And yes, there is a Trump/Bernie/Cruz/etc banner out there as well.

[Forevergreen]

I think the Cadets could use a bit of color. Human emotions have long been associated with color. I am not sure the raw design is there to win, but never count the Cadets out to push.

[George Dixon]

Agreed. As an FMM of The Cavaliers, and still very much in contact with many of the Admin and Staff of the Corps, no one has ever said they were supporting Hillary. It was all just examples of propaganda. And yes, there is a Trump/Bernie/Cruz/etc banner out there as well.

Just the way it came across. Perhaps the filming and camera angles were to blame.

[barigirl78]

Having watched a video of last night's performance (BLOOO), and having seen a number of the posted spring preview shows, including BD, Cavaliers, Crown, Madison, Crossmen, and others, I completely disagree with your notion here.

Cadets started in 4th in 2011, then went on to win.

Now, this show will take some time. It does have some weaknesses, but all fixable. I think the props need looked at. They need a more professional look, like those of Bluecoats, Crown, and BD. The theme needs fleshed out a bit more as well. That will come with show edits, tweaks, and cuts. But make no mistake here, I believe the Cadets likely have the most challenging brass book out there, perhaps percussion too, and the music is really good and fun to listen to. Once clean that will help their music GE scores as well as performance. They are marching a killer visual book that simply needs much cleaning and a bit of clarification. The guard is sloppy, but I think they are exposed and integrated well.

What I dislike the most is not the theme so much, but the lack of color. Outside of that, this show has a lot of potential and when clean could become a beast to be reckoned with.

The comment about them starting in 4th had me going back to the archives. Yes, they started in 4th on 6/18, but rebounded immediately on 6/19 to rank 2nd. They stayed in 2nd for about a week, rose to 1st, for two days, and slipped back again. There was a lot of volatility in the rankings for the Cadets that year. They didn't just rise to 1st at the end. They were in that position a few times. All in all, they were in 4th for 11 out of the 49 days that season spanned.

Looking at that was a reminder that we only have one competition to go on. This is a year of limited recaps. We have yet to see what kind of volatilty that could lead to. Or not.

[garfield]

That's the problem for me. If I wanted to see a circus I'd go to the circus. If I wanted Cirque Du Soleil, I'd go see one of their shows (I have many times and they're fantastic) But to me, it's not drum corps. When I go to a drum corp show I want to see drill and hear great music, not this other BS.

Ooooh, how interesting. I take it as a badge of honor and experience to be able to scan an entire drum corps field and catch most of what's going on. I actually appreciate my own ability to watch several things at once on the field.

I also want to hear great music and see great drill.

[garfield]

I've spoken with corps people and that is a new one to me. But if someone really wants to go there, I'll add to the fire. Both Hillary and Cavaliers were from Park Ridge.

LOL

I LoVe DCP!

[garfield]

Typically, corps fans who don't consider today's drum corps to be "drum corps" would like drum corps to be what it was when they first fell in love with the activity. I'm not saying that fits you, but it's something I've observed. I've asked people, "When was drum corps 'drum corps?'" I've gotten responses stating the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, and around 2000. Personally, I prefer drum corps be what it is, no matter what year it currently is. Drum corps is whatever drum corps becomes.

Right there with you, but I will add...

I want drum corps to be UNIQUE. As unique as it was when I first came across it in 1972, but UNIQUE none-the-less.

That's my high-bar.

[2000Cadet]

Well, Cadets had a magnificent show in 2011 (musically and visually). A show that started the season with great potential, and a much better design than the 2016 show. Other than a fantastic brass and percussion line, I just don't really see much potential with the 2016show, as written. Visually, it is just a poor design. They are going to struggle with GE, Visual and Guard this season, IMO. Placing high in Brass and Percussion is not going to keep them afloat overall. I do think they will remain top 5 this year, but without some pretty big visual changes, I don't see them catching Bluecoats or Crown (they just have much better products).

Can you tell me what company I'll be working for once I get out the military?

Seriously. None of us has a Crystal ball here, person. As I said before, it's JUNE 24TH. Just because YOU think the design is flawed or others think it's not, doesn't mean what you or others say is actually true. There is a lot of season left for them to figure things out (and who is to say they don't have planned changes in the first place? We all know Cadets NEVER make any changes to their shows). It's a little early (actually, it's EXTREMELY early) to be making statements that none of us know to be true. Certainly they could come in fourth, fifth, sixth or first. But we do not know.