Muncie, IN - Friday, June 28, 2019

[Incognito365]

10 minutes ago, karuna said:

I really think Crown's design team has gotten it right this year.  And the performers have clearly embraced it.  Fun to watch things clicking.

I said preseason I was going to give the design team one more chance. Thank God I did! This show is absolutely fantastic and I continue to notice different things more and more with each performance! This show is going to be something special come the final stretch!

[queenanne_1536]

Just now, Incognito365 said:

I said preseason I was going to give the design team one more chance. Thank God I did! This show is absolutely fantastic and I continue to notice different things more and more with each performance! This show is going to be something special come the final stretch!

Yeah, I had NO faith in this team after last year (although I have no idea if the team this year is the same), but they have 100% knocked it out of the park. Before this year, my three favorite Crown shows were 2009, 2012 and 2015 (with 2013 being an honorable mention). This show will challenge all of those for me. Just fantastic in every way.

And yes, their guard appears to be struggling a bit from an execution standpoint, but I certainly spent a lot of time watching and enjoying them last night. If they start beating Bluecoats, Vanguard and BD then every single member is going to get wildly better, including the guard. It's amazing what morale can do and how far it can take you. We've seen it many times.

[Incognito365]

4 minutes ago, queenanne_1536 said:

Yeah, I had NO faith in this team after last year (although I have no idea if the team this year is the same), but they have 100% knocked it out of the park. Before this year, my three favorite Crown shows were 2009, 2012 and 2015 (with 2013 being an honorable mention). This show will challenge all of those for me. Just fantastic in every way.

And yes, their guard appears to be struggling a bit from an execution standpoint, but I certainly spent a lot of time watching and enjoying them last night. If they start beating Bluecoats, Vanguard and BD then every single member is going to get wildly better, including the guard. It's amazing what morale can do and how far it can take you. We've seen it many times.

I caught myself watching the guard more last night than the corps proper. They are starting to come together. As long as they don't drop below 6th, I believe that Crown could still pull off the win. In my opinion, it's in the hands of the guard now. Percussion, Brass, Visual, and GE have all proved they can hang.

[karuna]

16 minutes ago, queenanne_1536 said:

Yeah, I had NO faith in this team after last year (although I have no idea if the team this year is the same), but they have 100% knocked it out of the park. Before this year, my three favorite Crown shows were 2009, 2012 and 2015 (with 2013 being an honorable mention). This show will challenge all of those for me. Just fantastic in every way.

And yes, their guard appears to be struggling a bit from an execution standpoint, but I certainly spent a lot of time watching and enjoying them last night. If they start beating Bluecoats, Vanguard and BD then every single member is going to get wildly better, including the guard. It's amazing what morale can do and how far it can take you. We've seen it many times.

Disclaimer: this is just speculation on my part -- I have no insider knowledge.  

1st. Last year's production was a concert hall design.  The musical concepts were cleverly designed but without much thought given to whether they would be visually compelling.  So the visual designers were left trying to make something work and there were clearly struggles to bring that music to life.  One thing about Crown's history -- they are willing to learn from their mistakes.  No doubt that every musical piece this year brings plenty of visual opportunities to the field. 

2nd. (and I can't say this enough) The guard staff changes were on target.  Just watching a few ST rehearsalsl I saw and heard things I haven't heard since the old team was there.  It gave me goose bumps.  I knew CrownGuard was back on track.  

3rd.  The visual team last season did not bring the cleaning as they had in the past. Whether this was because they knew they were leaving or because Hardin stepped away I don't know. This year's team is knocking it out of the park.  Again -- immediately obvious at the first ensemble rehearsal I saw.  

Edited June 29, 2019 by karuna

[queenanne_1536]

3 minutes ago, Incognito365 said:

I caught myself watching the guard more last night than the corps proper. They are starting to come together. As long as they don't drop below 6th, I believe that Crown could still pull off the win. In my opinion, it's in the hands of the guard now. Percussion, Brass, Visual, and GE have all proved they can hang.

Well, it's also in the hands of the judges. Their show is very different than shows like BD, Bluecoats, and Vanguard, and as of right now I like it a lot better than any of those three. But, it's going to come down to the judges really. I've said it before on here, but for years and years I did not understand why BD was winning, and I didn't understand their wins over Crown in 2009, 2012, and 2015. I would have said the same things you said in 2009, 2012 and 2015 (end of season) that you are saying now, but the judges gave it to BD, and I was left ###### off and disappointed. Now when I got back and watch those shows, I get why BD won. I sure as heck liked Crown's shows those years a million times better, but I get it.

I sometimes just don't know what they (the judges) want. Last year, at this time, I was 99% sure Vanguard was going to win out, and they did. I really feel I'm getting more and more clueless about this year as the season goes on. Crown ruined everything I was thinking last night, because their performance was so spectacular and their show is just absolutely amazing. I just hope the judges see it that way, because if the don't, I'll have to try and wrap my head around that.