Drenched in DeKalb

[UKSuperman]

Do my eyes deceive me or did I just see Carolina Crown beat the Blue Devils in percussion...?!?!

[Hrothgar15]

Regiment encore Periscope: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1nAJEbXLAaZxL

[Tricia-A BD/BK Mom]

you ask the impossible. I don't think there is anyone who could explain (not going to use her name). Let's put it this way, she's one of a small group of people who broke RAMD. On the bright side, her actions lead to the creation of DCP, so there's that.

Regards,

John

Oh, I remember her. Things would get uglier than ugly. It's funny looking at all these names. Most of us bailed from RAMD, went to Sound Machine and within months in '02 were on DCP.

[Cappybara]

That BD achievement score in percussion lol

[Lance]

i feel validated.

i was talking about crown's percussion since my first theater review. somebody told me i was 999,999% wrong about the drum break in the opener being reminiscent of late 90s scv battery books. and i don't know anything about percussion, so i probably shouldn't feel validated.

[Sandonovan]

Do my eyes deceive me or did I just see Carolina Crown beat the Blue Devils in percussion...?!?!

Huh... I think the world must be ending... Or something.

I still think TOC shows can have as much worth as a potato at times.

[bgg80]

not sure where i said anything of the sort. wait let me check

nope.

fwiw implode= 6th place or worse

explode= medal

as i said -- don't know which.

Sorry -- I misread. When you said "it's not the performer ... usually isn't with the Cadets" , I guess I interpreted that you feel the Cadets have an ongoing trend with design that either explodes or crashes...

Actually, what did you mean by that statement?

On another note -- thanks for posting those recaps. I haven't seen anyone comment on the percussion scores. Crown finished second, ahead of BD! I think that's a big development.

[FlamMan]

So after going back & forth on attending the DeKalb show tonight & seeing that the weather forecast was revised for the good, Mrs. FlamMan & I decided to go. Unfortunately we had to wait in a ridiculously long line for tickets. 12 ticket windows at Huskies Stadium, 3 were open. We literally got to our seats as BD were being announced. It was a great night of drum corps, despite humidity that rivaled Houston or St. Louis. Here is my short take on things tonight;

For you sensitive types, CAUTION! Opinions follow below.

BLUE DEVILS. Unis have way too much going on for my liking. My Wife & I both really like the music, Which hasn't been the case with us in most recent years. As someone else mentioned, I have no idea how they won GE. Music was great, & I'm a guy who thinks drum corps should be mostly about the music, but I just don't know what they are trying to do with their show & they just don't seem to march & move as much as other corps. Drum line & horn lines were great. I had BD #1 in drums, & #2 in horns & 3rd in the show.

BLUE COATS. Unis are tight body suits, again these aren't my cup of tea. I miss hats. Looks incomplete without them. It is impossible to be bored during this show as there is a lot going on. Great music, horns & drums. This was (should have been) the GE winner tonight, not BD. I had Bloo #3 in drums & #3 in horns, but I had them winning this show because their visual & GE was so great.The Pink Floyd tune is outstanding. I think Bloo catches BD soon.

CROWN. My Wife sees Crown in the corner of the stadium about to take the field & she says "I didnt know the Troopers were here". The uniform colors from a distance along with the stage coach certainly looked like Troop. Crown is coming on strong! Best sounding & loudest horn line tonight & it wasn't close...& this is the best drum line & snare line that Crown has ever had. I had them #1 in horns & # 5 in drums & 2nd in the show.

SCV. Best uniform in the activity. Hands down. They look outstanding on the field. I love this corps & show. Great music & drill. Snares were dirty tonight so I had them #2 in drums behind BD, & #4 in horns & $4 in the show. I was surprised they were 3.1 behind Crown. I thought the spread would be half that.

GARFIELD. Why the black uniforms? Why? The traditional white Cadets unis were my favorite in the activity. The black does nothing for them visually. I loved the first half of this show, but the second half lost me. BORING. I kept waiting for the end, music was very repetitious. The very ending of the show is just a mess & needs a complete re-write. Horn line isn't as good as recent years, but as usual, the drum line is great. I have always loved the Cadets snare line. No one plays rolls pushing the beat like the Cadets. I had them 4th in drums & 5th in horns & 5th in the show. I didnt think they would be only .25 behind SCV.

CAVALIERS. Not to sound repetitive, but once again the uniform doesnt do it for me. I get the black & white theme & all, but to change the classic green Cavalier uniform for black & white with newsprint on the sleeves? This is certainly an original show concept & it is a very busy show. I didnt expect to see Trump & Hillary signs. This is an entertaining show but I thought they would finish 2 or 3 points behind Garfield. Cavys certainly can catch Garfield.

PHANTOM REGIMENT. 2nd best uniform of the night. What a great great look. Clean, classy & masculine. Best guard uni of the night. A classy & elegant look. The all female guard allows PR to achieve this look & I hope they don't ever change. My Wife said "I guess you have to be a size 2 or smaller to be in the guard". Lots off tiny girls in this guard for sure. I enjoyed this show for what it was, just a straightforward drum corps show without any props or gimmicks. Love the closer. While this isn't one of PR's better corps, I had them closer to Cavaliers than to Blue Knights. Not sure where Phantom goes with this show.

BLUE KNIGHTS. Once again, uniforms. I know that body suits are in this year but good lord. Honestly, there wasn't anything that I liked about this show except the drum line which is very good. The music is subdued & very different for drum corps. The horn line just doesnt play enough. This show is loaded with weirdness & sound effects & the closer doesnt cut it. I had them 5 points behind PR. I have no idea how they finished 1.25 behind Phantom. BK actually beat PR in music. NNo way were they better musically than Phantom. Not even close.

I have been very critical in recent years of corps shows that were full of play-as-many-notes-and-dissonant-chords-as-possible. Shows that were full of technical difficulty, & Short on musicality & melody. Well, this year is different. I cant remember when I have enjoyed drum corps show music more. There are many many great musical shows this year.

As far as rankings go, the below groupings seem pretty clear right now as far as the corps who are competing for a finals spot:

TIER 1.

Blue Devils

Blue Coats,

Carolina Crown

TIER 2.

Santa Clara Vanguard

Garfield Cadets

Cavaliers

TIER 3.

Phantom Regiment

Blue Knights

Blue Stars

Madison Scouts

Crossmen

Tier 4.

The Academy

Boston Crusaders

Troopers

Colts

San Antonio should be interesting!

[Hrothgar15]

Best sounding & loudest horn line tonight & it wasn't close...

Trying to remember the last time this wasn't the case when it comes to Carolina Crown. 2006?

[N.E. Brigand]

I hope this isn't beating a dead horse...

Noticed on a periscope that the Cadets' show was introduced as "Statues Awakening". Did they change the title from "Awakening", or is this just something the announcer did accidentally? Seems like a weird change and title.

The title was changed. It's been "Statues Awakening" since about June 25, according to this post. Presumably the judges were confused about the show concept, so Cadets decided to spell it out for them, but a number of people on these forums have grumbled about the change since then.