The Fight for Finals

[Jake W.]

Now that we're down to the wire, it's time for everyone's second-favorite fight (my personal favorite, though!), after the fight for medals and the championship. As I see it, there are 9 locks for Finals (Bluecoats down to Blue Stars, and hooray Blue Stars for being such a sure bet for Finals this year), and 5 corps vying for those last three spots. Obviously, three of those corps will play on Saturday night, and two will end their season on Friday evening. I'll start off with my opinion, but I'd love to hear everyone else's as well.

Crossmen, Scouts, Boston, Academy, & Troop fighting for those last three spots.

CROSSMEN: Obviously the easiest pick of the five, although by no means a 100% lock for Saturday night. Arguably the most talented musicians, guard, and most retention the corps has seen in at least ten years, I just wish they had been given a more musically demanding show to match those abilities. As of Allentown, they're the cleanest and most nuanced of this group of five corps. My only worry is that the show is cleaned & peaked and has the potential to be caught. If all five corps were crystal clean and at peak perfection, I think this brass book in particular would seriously lag behind the other four --- it truly does not offer much in the way of extended phrase work, organic difficulty, and they play (by far) the least of the five brass lines throughout the show. On the other hand, color guard is top notch, and the percussion writing is deep and layered and delicious. The design as a whole makes much more sense than Scouts or Boston, although certainly not as emotionally investing as Troopers or Academy

Strengths: Top of this tier all season long / crystal clear show design & concept / delicate & detailed percussion / powerful color guard that confidently executes musical, difficult, multi-layered work / EXCELLENT brass line / Ballad impact moment is a real treat.

Possible Weaknesses for next week: Have they peaked? Is there much left to clean, and if not, will they be passed by cleaner groups with more complex designs? Brass book by far has the least to offer of the five.

MADISON SCOUTS: Hard to imagine a Finals night without the Scouts, but El Relampago wasn't that long ago. I think we all had higher hopes for this show, preseason. Among the best musicians & marchers of these five corps, but a real head-scratcher of a design. Despite the crap that the dinos on the Madison thread love to spew about today's chop & bop arrangements, that myth is NOT the case with most groups this year...except for Madison & Boston, and they've been suffering all season because of it. The musical arrangement just doesn't make much sense. Beyond that, I think Madison's least-discusesd design flaw this season is their lack of visual complexity or demand. Yes, they have a rock solid guard that spins sky high, but the drill of the corps proper truly lacks velocity, exposure, or demand when compared with the other groups in their tier (in my opinion).

Strengths: Incredible musicians, aggressive & clean color guard, and the passion and swagger that this corps brings to the field. All of that coupled with their late season cleaning abilities of recent years could give a pretty positive outlook for this upcoming weekend.

Possible weaknesses: Design, design, deign, as we all know. Choppy musical writing that doesn't make much sense, and a drill design that lacks the demand of others in the tier.

BOSTON CRUSADERS: Wow, they're finally pulling this thing together. The guard uniforms are elegant and the windmills make for a visual feast. Similar to Madison, in the pursuit of staying current, the musical design seems to have chased elusively after an esoteric mixing of great music, to no avail, and forgoing entertainment in the process. Again, can't imagine a Finals night without Boston Crusaders. My biggest worry is that we really have not seen a clean end-of-season corps from them in a few years; both Animal Farm & Conquest had significant amounts of dirt remaining at the end of each season.

Strengths: This corps knows what it takes to be a finalist. The rewrites and additions seem to finally be tying Quixotic together. A real, true hunger and grit to maintain that finalist status could be all it takes to maintain.

Possible Weaknesses: An over-designed show and a lack of experience with late-season cleanliness in the last few years.

THE ACADEMY: We'lI all be heartbroken if this incredible show doesn't make Finals. Contrary to popular opinion, I think the brass book in particular offers just as much challenge as anyone else in their tier: they're playing non-stop throughout both Prokofiev pieces (already something that Crossmen's book doesn't offer), there's plenty of exposure (more so than Scouts or Boston, in my opinion), and the entire Unchained Melody closer offers SO MUCH musicality, extended phrases, and nuance that simply cannot be found in the other brass books in this tier. My worry with The Academy: the corps simply has no experience with cleaning like a finalist group. The little extra details, the sparkle, the final push...I'm certainly not implying that they can't figure it out, but Crossmen, Scouts, Boston, and even Troopers certainly have a leg up in this category. The Academy has brought us a slew of great shows (Re, Mary Poppins, and Left of Spring all come to mind) that fell flat at the end of the season and were out-cleaned, even occasionally by lesser designs. The whole season of cleaning must be approached with aggression and passion; conversely, cleaning in the final week requires a delicate and detailed approach. It's a fine line to navigate.

Strengths: The show, the glorious, fan-favorite show. The closer gets me every time. A challenging brass book, a much-improved color guard, and the audience on the corps' side!!

Possible Weakness: A lack of experience with hanging with the big boys, and what that takes in the final stretch.

TROOPERS: This fight isn't over yet. It's a terrific show, better-designed than some others in this tier, but that #### visual caption is their thorn. It's a monster show, and Troopers have demonstrated for the last five years that they know how to CLEAN during the home stretch. On the flip side, this show is unquestionably meatier than any of their recent programs, which they were able to max out by Finals week. The Fix You closer is gold. The Corigliano in particular offers more substance than any of the other corps in this tier. I really, really enjoy the Trooper's show this year, and they're not out of this battle yet.

Strengths: Their demonstrated ability the last few seasons to clean like hell during Finals week. A terrific design, and an emotional audience connection that the Troopers are so good at eliciting from a crowd.

Weakness for Finals week: Visual, visual, visual. If they can get that caption in order, the sky's the limit.

I would just like to personally add, I would be in heaven in both Troop & Academy were to break into the top 12 this year. Ah, a guy can dream. In the mean time, I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this Friday evening battle for the last few Finalist spots!

[Cadevilina Crown]

Bump!

The fight for the Top 3 is good... The fight for 10th-12th might be even better!

[corps8294]

I think it's safe to say, at this point, that the Crossmen are a definite lock for finals, too. 11th, 12th, and 13th are going to be interesting. I think out of The Academy, Madison, and Boston grouping; Academy has the most going for them right now to be a definite finalist. Academy's show design is vastly superior to both Madison and Boston and the desire to max that show out is obvious with every viewing of that corps. I'd put them at 11th. Boston has proven, this year, that putting heart and passion into a poorly designed show can bring rewards...that being a late season surge for a finalist spot. I'd put them at 12th. Finally, there's Madison...*sigh* Madison, Madison, Madison; a talented membership burdened with a show design that's stuck in the early '90s and a use of electronics that's reminiscent of the early '00s.

[MikeRapp]

Let me just say that performing at Lucas Oil at all, regardless of your placement, in what may be the most competitive, high achievement season in history, is success. Kids, you were each chosen by your respective corps, and only one corps can win the gold. Each of you have achieved greatness this summer! Have fun this week, compete your heart out, while also seeing your own achievements on their own merit!

[BRASSO]

Nice analysis. I personally think that Crossmen are a lock now to make Finals.

Corps like SCV, Phantom have all done rehash versions of previous themes, and improved their scores and placements on it. But the new version has to be far better in music arranging and in overall show design than the earlier version that was done years before by that Corps. Is Madison's 2016 version of their show theme better in music arranging, overall show design, flow & construct, than their 90's version ? I don't know that it is. And its now 25 years later.

I said earlier in the preseason that Show Design counts for a lot today. Academy is currently just 3 points in back of BK. BK has far, far, better marcher talent in their Corps this year than does Academy. Even Troopers, imo, have better, more experienced marcher talent in their Corps this summer than does Academy. But Academy has a well constructed Show Design that is coherent, fun, and appealing to both judges and audiences alike. I don't think the brass charts, particularly the first half of the show is all that difficult in demand at all.... but it is played well. And the show flows well. So Academy benefits from the Show Design. At the top of the ticket, Cadets have terrific marcher talent, but they suffer likewise this season among their peers in their pecking order because their performers can not save a Show Design that is subpar... despite tons of demand in the show... compared to others within their mix of Corps either.

Edited August 7, 2016 by BRASSO

[777hornman]

All year crossmen's music scores brass , GE . MA , and percussion have been well over this 10-14 group .

DCI judges , fans and reviews of the show all have disagreed with your assessment of their musical book. In fact most think it is the corps strength . They are not as clean as blue Stars , Phantom , or blue Knights . But the guard and GE content scores definitely disagree with you .

I suggest you give it another viewing .

I am pulling for Boston to come from behind and take that 11th spot with Madison finishing 12th .

[MikeRapp]

Nice analysis. I personally think that Crossmen are a lock now to make Finals.

Corps like SCV, Phantom have all done rehash versions of previous themes, and improved their scores and placements on it. But the new version has to be far better in music arranging and in overall show design than the earlier version that was done years before by that Corps. Is Madison's 2016 version of their show theme better in music arranging, overall show design, flow & construct, than their 90's version ? I don't know that it is. And its now 25 years later.

I said earlier in the preseason that Show Design counts for a lot today. Academy is currently just 3 points in back of BK. BK has far, far, better marcher talent in their Corps this year than does Academy. Even Troopers, imo, have better, more experienced marcher talent in their Corps this summer than does Academy. But Academy has a well constructed Show Design that is coherent, fun, and appealing to both judges and audiences alike. I don't think the brass charts, particularly the first half of the show is all that difficult in demand at all.... but it is played well. And the show flows well. So Academy benefits from the Show Design. At the top of the ticket, Cadets have terrific marcher talent, but they suffer likewise this season among their peers in their pecking order because their performers can not save a Show Design that is subpar compared to others within their mix of Corps either.

I think it's so cool how corps are developing their niche now that show design is becoming broader. Despite what you may think about the new direction of show design and concept, there is no doubt it is allowing more room for corps to develop their own way of doing what they do. Academy, to me, looks like they now have a chance to become the next Carolina Crown, in their own unique way. Totally unique approach to uniforms, music and performance built for the GE era.

[BRASSO]

I like Academy's uniforms. They're unique, and classy looking, imo.

Edited August 7, 2016 by BRASSO

[DrumManTx]

First, IMO, I think Crossmen are a lock. With their electronics issues yesterday, that probably hit GE some and Music some. I think they are an almost lock for 10th.

However, momentum wise and looking at the numbers, think Academy is in the drivers seat and Boston Crusaders have their foot on the gas. I'm going to speak to a lot of that, just looking at the numbers and their usual trends and see what I think.

With The Academy, they really made a statement on Friday. With performance slots way early in the week and an apparent stomach bug, don't think they really got an accurate read all week. Getting a side by side comparison with Madison on Friday, doesn't get much more clear than that. They continue to find more and more to pull out of this show score wise when everyone seems to think they have peaked. There is still PLENTY there for them to clean and refine, maybe not as much as say Troopers or Boston, but still enough there for one more week. By Allentown the last two years and in their 2009 - 2012 run they had pretty much done about everything they could do with their shows and stalled out in that 14th - 15th range. This year, seems like they are their cleanest ever and are still finding ways to get cleaner. I think that inexperience the OP is talking about is not there this year. Just looking at the numbers, they went from a little under three behind Madison Scouts in Minneapolis, around a point behind in San Antonio, basically tied in Atlanta, to 1.4 ahead of them on Friday night. That's entire season trend, that only got more clear yesterday. On the demand argument with them, harder drill and harder music doesn't really mean crap if it isn't designed well and executable by the membership, and I think they've balanced perfectly with their ensembles capabilities, while hitting a home run in the design category. Content does not equate to difficulty. It's a part, but not all of it. I'm not saying they won't peak, won't get passed, ect, but the trend for them the whole season and in comparison to the last few years is seriously against that happening. Plus, they have those two really important intangible things that are not on the judges sheet. You can tell, they want it. Bad. They are really hungry. They can smell finals. They are not going to let it slip by them. They are going to do everything in their power for that spot, and as of now they are more than one spot in. They'd have to have a pretty epic stall out in my eyes to not make it. One more show tonight, and then they are off to Indy to clean, refine, make last minute additions, and settle in. And they have pretty ridiculous crowd support. On the cinecasts in past years Rondinaro and Delucia talk about the crowd willing and wanting a corps in. Crown last year, Crown in 2013, Phantom Regiment in 2008. That doesn't always equate to placement increases/decreases, but that probably adds all sorts of fuel to their motivational fire to get the job done.

On Boston, oh my God. If you have watched them all year you cannot tell me they did not look and sound like a new corps out for blood and hungry to stay in yesterday. Their improvement over one week was nothing short of ridiculous. Musically, they are going to be dangerous. That hornline was lush, powerful, and full of energy. The drill is REALLY starting to clean. And the show, with some flaws, is really coming together. But most importantly, they are selling it, and drawing the crowd in. There is another really dangerous type of corps, and that is the they have been kicked when they are down, everyone has doubted them, ###### off group that is saying HEY WE ARE NOT DONE YET! And then they grab you by the throat and make you watch them be so much better. They gained about 6 points from Atlanta, this late in the year that is hard to do. And I bet they can find a lot more. This corps is also hungry, and from the sound of the crowd in Allentown last night, they are bringing the crowd support with them. They have all the indications numbers wise of a corps that is peaking at the right time. The deficits they had in Atlanta, they destroyed quite a bit. Big time momentum.

Madison, just on numbers purely, has been slowing down since Minneapolis. They started looking like a corps that was going to compete with Blue Knights and Blue Stars, and then in San Antonio it looked like they'd compete for 10th with Crossmen, and then in Atlanta it looked like 11th or 12th with Academy, and now it's looking like 12th or 13th with Boston Crusaders. It's not that they haven't been cleaning, it's not that they haven't been improving, it's just better designed shows are starting to clean up and get their due numbers wise that they didn't deserve earlier in the season because of dirt. I think Madison has a really fun show, that has huge crowd appeal, but like mentioned above there are some glaring flaws with it. I'm not sure what they can do to change this with less than a week left. They are by all accounts slowing down big time. Academy beating them by 1.4 on Friday was a pretty glaring indicator, and then Boston popped a number slightly higher than them, given it was with an extra day. You can say that they are probably kicking it into overdrive this next week doing everything they can to stay in, but when you have something as well designed as The Academy in front of you and that is peaking big time like Boston, that makes it hard. I am by no means predicting them missing finals, but it's not impossible. And that'd make me sad, I don't think anyone wants the Madison Scouts out of finals, but the way the stars are aligning right now, it's going to be a fight.

And then you have the Troopers. In 2013 and 2015 I had pretty much settled on them being a great 13th place corps. And then they come out in semifinals in 2013 with the show of their lives and almost knock out Blue Stars again, and due to a penalty and a HELLUVA semifinals performance in 2015, almost knock Crossmen out. This corps isn't done until the number comes out of the speakers on Friday night. They have the most to do out of everyone here, how high they place is dependent on how much they can clean. They are the least likely of this group, but it's not impossible.

I don't think anyone is safe. I think some are more safe than others, but we won't know anything until Friday night. I don't think it's going to be show based as much as performance based this year. I think whoever has the best, most energetic, clean performance on Friday will determine who is in. A week ago with Madison and The Academy nearly 3 points up on the Troopers and Boston in 14th by more than a little I didn't think this conversation would happen. But certain corps are really putting it into overdrive to get it. And that is pretty #### exciting! This is the most intense finals fight yet in my 8 years following. Let the best corps win! I know I'm pulling for The Academy and Boston Crusaders, but whoever gets in has surely earned it.

Edited August 7, 2016 by DrumManTx

[RedJazz1900]

Here's how I see it. This is just my opinion based on what I've been seeing.

Crossmen are in. (Probably 10th. Maybe 11th.)

Academy are in. (Probably 11th. Maybe 10th. Maybe 12th.)

Boston and Madison are fighting for the 12th place spot. I honestly give the nod to Boston.

Troopers and below are too far out. Great shows, though.