DrumCorpsBug Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 SCV deserves to win: they have a far more challenging, interesting and complex show. The show design is far more innovative than BD, the props are well conceived and the members are achieving at an unbeatable level. SCV MOVES constantly throughout their program; BD only creates great moments while standing in place. BD show is their worst in the past few years, SCV's is certainly their best. SCV should win without a doubt. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 I love me some Santa Clara. Always have. I enjoy this show. Visually I think it's stunning. Musically it grabs me at times. The last 2 to 3 minutes are AMAZING! I am not wild about amplifying the lead brass players just because they happen to have some soli sections that alternate with the full brass line. I enjoy those sections musically but not the change of sound. The first few minutes of the show do not grab me musically, and their incredible pit saves them musically in the middle portions of the show. The pit writing and the visuals alone in those sections are just off the charts superior. Having said that I do feel SCV is in the hunt. They belong in the top 2. There are wonderful peaks and valleys in the show along with some great musicianship. Percussion is amazing. Their guard is top notch. Brass is stellar and has a nice book, just not a great book. Vanguard uses those props to perfection. Visually the show really is stunning. I am not bothered by the uniforms as others are. I like them for this show. To me, if they had a slightly better music book that pulled just a tad more GE out of the first few minutes that would help. However, they also need to clean a bit more. I felt they were a little sloppy last night with some visual hits. This is something BD nails come Finals week. Carolina Crown almost caught SCV last night because they are so clean. Certainly Carolina is a force as well, and they are clean and sharp; but they do not have the overall GE that SCV does. SCV needs to make sure that they keep that lead in GE and get closer to BD. If they deliver a sloppy performance it will be BD no. 1 and CC no. 2. I am rooting for SCV to perform their best show on Finals, then let's see what happens. My favorite show all year has been Blue Devils. I love it more every time I see it. I do not think it can be beat, but if SCV were to top BD I would have no problem with that. They just need to earn it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Insight Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 14 minutes ago, jwillis35 said: I love me some Santa Clara. Always have. I enjoy this show. Visually I think it's stunning. Musically it grabs me at times. The last 2 to 3 minutes are AMAZING! I am not wild about amplifying the lead brass players just because they happen to have some soli sections that alternate with the full brass line. I enjoy those sections musically but not the change of sound. The first few minutes of the show do not grab me musically, and their incredible pit saves them musically in the middle portions of the show. The pit writing and the visuals alone in those sections are just off the charts superior. Having said that I do feel SCV is in the hunt. They belong in the top 2. There are wonderful peaks and valleys in the show along with some great musicianship. Percussion is amazing. Their guard is top notch. Brass is stellar and has a nice book, just not a great book. Vanguard uses those props to perfection. Visually the show really is stunning. I am not bothered by the uniforms as others are. I like them for this show. To me, if they had a slightly better music book that pulled just a tad more GE out of the first few minutes that would help. However, they also need to clean a bit more. I felt they were a little sloppy last night with some visual hits. This is something BD nails come Finals week. Carolina Crown almost caught SCV last night because they are so clean. Certainly Carolina is a force as well, and they are clean and sharp; but they do not have the overall GE that SCV does. SCV needs to make sure that they keep that lead in GE and get closer to BD. If they deliver a sloppy performance it will be BD no. 1 and CC no. 2. I am rooting for SCV to perform their best show on Finals, then let's see what happens. My favorite show all year has been Blue Devils. I love it more every time I see it. I do not think it can be beat, but if SCV were to top BD I would have no problem with that. They just need to earn it. For those who are not fans of amplifying brass, be aware that many of the top corps are doing it, but approaching it differently. For example, SCV amplifies their 'small brass ensemble' while the Blue Devils have 6 mics spread across the front sideline to amplify various sections of their show. In the Blue Devils' high brass feature on side B they are amplifying that section very effectively. If you watch closely, other corps also have microphone across the front sideline placed strategically to allow them to amplify certain brass sections and/or part of their show. This amplification trend has been adopted quickly after the success the Bluecoats have had with it. I expect we will see more of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, dans said: those costumes...worse costumes of the year. Visually horrible from the stands.. There are no captions on the current scoring sheets for " costuming " however. This is not an Irish Step Dancing Competition ( or similar ) where there are captions for " costuming ". DCi Judges disregard attire. Otherwise, maybe the Academy ( or some such ) would be a lock for Finals. Edited August 8, 2017 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Insight Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 42 minutes ago, DrumCorpsBug said: SCV deserves to win: they have a far more challenging, interesting and complex show. The show design is far more innovative than BD, the props are well conceived and the members are achieving at an unbeatable level. SCV MOVES constantly throughout their program; BD only creates great moments while standing in place. BD show is their worst in the past few years, SCV's is certainly their best. SCV should win without a doubt. I agree that SCV has a more challenging and complex show. Blue Devils have a more accessible show. What impresses me the most about SCV is the difficult brass book that they play on the move, and they move a LOT. The Blue Devils high brass is incredible (but their low brass have very little prominence). I agree that most of Blue Devils moments are created while stationary. Both corps are fantastic. If SCV wins it will be because they perform their complex show to near perfection. If Blue Devils win it will be due to the 'in your face' entertainment factor and near flawless performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c mor Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 2 minutes ago, Candid Insight said: ... If Blue Devils win it will be due to the 'in your face' entertainment factor and near flawless performance. Sounds good to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 (edited) SCV and BD have the 2 best Corps in DCI this season, and either one would be deserving Champions as both of them have great Show Designs, and sufficient performer based execution to win. I suppose at the moment, BD has the edge here. However, I do like how the SCV show has a great flow to it from start to finish. Its pacing is first rate. It does not seem like segmented parts woven together, but rather a seemless, flowing visual/ musical journey that captures the theme brilliantly, imo. The use of flags in the show is superior. The brass charts arrangements, clever. Yes, there is amplification, but lots of others are using this, so in my view, SCV is utilizing the amplification well compared to many others. The visual demands in their show seem challenging. There still is noticeable, visible dirt there though, and it needs to be cleaner come Championships. SCV still seems like :" Drum Corps " to me, as they are " marching " more from dot to dot, not so much running in the show from dot to dot as i can see in some other Corps shows. I hope they win. But BD has a well crafted show design too here in 2017, and there is undeniable performer talent in their Corps to win it all with it. I enjoy this BD show more than a few recent ones from them. Finally, Crown is still in the Title hunt, and last nites score in Ohio shows they remain a viable option if SCV and BD both come up a bit short in performance in Indy. Edited August 8, 2017 by BRASSO 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Insight Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 32 minutes ago, BRASSO said: There are no captions on the current scoring sheets for " costuming " however. This is not an Irish Step Dancing Competition ( or similar ) where there are captions for " costuming ". DCi Judges disregard attire. Otherwise, maybe the Academy ( or some such ) would be a lock for Finals. It is true that there is no caption for 'costumes', however the visual appearance that can be created with uniforms (color/design) is certainly a factor in General Effect. The Bluecoats 2016 uniforms had an impact in this regard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 (edited) 58 minutes ago, Candid Insight said: It is true that there is no caption for 'costumes', however the visual appearance that can be created with uniforms (color/design) is certainly a factor in General Effect. The Bluecoats 2016 uniforms had an impact in this regard. Bluecoats here in 2017 have FAR better eye appealing costumes than in 2016, and they utilize the unique bowler hats for clever visual effects throughout the 2017 show... and quite effectively too. But judges don't give credit for hats, costumes, etc on the sheets, or else the Defending Champions ( Bluecoats ) would not be sitting currently in 4th place. So no, attire in DCI is essentially a non factor in where all these Corps are sitting right now placement wise. Some DCI corps have won Championships ( and recently too ) with some of the most hideous looking attire in Drum Corps history. Some years, Phantom Regiment has had THE most well coordinated, classically top notch costumes, color coordinated and theme coordinated perfectly with the stunningly beautiful Guard outfits and finished well out of the running. So no.. imo... the duds these Corps choose for themselves in any season are essentially a non factor in their scores and placements. Edited August 8, 2017 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePlanets Posted August 8, 2017 Share Posted August 8, 2017 I haven't seen BD live yet. When Crown took the field last night (SCV and Bloo still to go) you could tell they were above everyone else that had performed so far. Then SCV came on and my husband made some great points. 1. Yes Crown Brass is better but SCV has very good brass that hangs with all of the other top groups...the brass isn't holding them back. 2. SCV had the most complete package of a show...so much going on musically and visually with a great music program. 3. Their color guard is very clean and balances with the brass and percussion flawlessly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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