Favorite moments this season

[johnpendell]

Hey all,  never really start threads, but I thought maybe we could have fun with this. While there’s so much discussion on what we DON’T like, it’ll be refreshing to talk about the things we love.

Mine are:

Opening hit of Bluecoats, that crazy mesh of sound to that huge brass hit gets me every time. That rifle toss let’s you know it’s coming....

opening flag work of BD with the Khachaturian. Ugh so effective. and the doors opening with the rifle throws. Genius. And intimidating. 

Crowns brass hit in the ballad, kills me every time all the emotions. The company front is like an old friend, and it just is a great way to end the show, at least for me  

seriously.... all of Cavaliers show. But most of all that ballad hit, jeez it’s so good. And the backhanded flag grab, I always bite my nails when it comes around. Also in the closer when the rifles are thrown so angrily, doesn’t take much skill obviously but it’s just so much hype  

BKs spinning drumline in the opener, to the eventual brass entrance. No one does build up like BK.

Crossmens ballad hit that the trumpets enter with. It was so unexpected first time listening and stuck with me all season. 

Vanguards soloists, all of them. My favorite is the mellophone, she’s the greatest of the season imo  

Cadets drumline. Particularly the tenors, they just do licks I could only dream of learning. Any time they’re exposed I’m HYPED

Mandarins trumpet feature! Every time! I bet it’s so fun to play, I would have loved to play that  

Bostons trumpet brass feature, when I heard it in the park I thought oh ####... they’re not joking. Also love the ballad when the final resolution becomes a cluster chord and the evil laugh is heard. Very oh ####... it’s closer time.... love the Goliath crushing David drill. 

Phantoms opening hit. So epic and would get me on my feet if I was lucky enough to see it live. Unfortunately not this year. They gave me what I was missing from last year. My expectations were completely proven wrong this season, so really the whole show for me is a 😮 wow. 

Scouts drill, and the uniforms, just so classy. Jazz music for children. In your face chord with a fleur de lis set.  I wish the best for them. 

Edited August 1, 2019 by johnpendell

[Cappybara]

the suspense is killing me

Edited July 30, 2019 by Cappybara

[NeutralNovice]

...minute?  I just cut the cheese and it was satisfying.

[johnpendell]

1 minute ago, Cappybara said:

the suspense is killing me

Omg I failed so hard making my first thread  *face palm*

 

[johnpendell]

2 minutes ago, NeutralNovice said:

...minute?  I just cut the cheese and it was satisfying.

Thought I was tapping “return” and it was actually submit, oops 

[Precious Roy]

• Crown's opening chord
• BD rifle toss over the door
• BD props lowering, and flag toss entry as the props come back up
• Crossmen's drum major taking control of the podium
• BAC Goliath on stilts, running across the field, and coming to a full stop without falling over
• Madison's rotating box drill
• Jersey Surf's tarp transition to under the water
• Colt's Hell's Bells
• The Bluecoats

Edited to add: Who is it that tosses their horns in the air? Was that BAC, or Cavies? There was an audible "gasp" throughout the stadium at Atlanta when that happened.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Precious Roy

[Rich Cline]

32 minutes ago, johnpendell said:

Hey all,  never really start threads, but I thought maybe we could have fun with this. 

Mine are: Opening of Bluecoats where the prop spins around and the drummer is on the trap set, the whole Blackbird number.

Blue Devils: The Rifle toss by CG as they blast through the doors in opener and soft shoe tap routine by drummers on the props

Phantom Regiment: Opener

 

 

[Jake W.]

SO MANY TERRIFIC MOMENTS TO APPRECIATE THIS SEASON 😄

Also, I'd just like to assert that if you're only watching the top 15 corps, you're doing it wrong. There's a TON to appreciate in the bottom few corps this year.

Seattle Cascades --- The giant first impact (no slow start there), the terrific & energetic arrangement of Asphalt Cocktail, and the jazzy "I've Got The World On A String" ballad with screamers that would make any Madison dino happy, complete with a final ballad impact that gives me chills every time I hear it. It's really nice to get chills from the last place corps. Seriously, tune in for the ballad, everyone!!

Jersey Surf --- Everything about the show design this year, and of course the fly over (or as the designers recently called it in a brilliant interview, a "drag over"), but my legit favorite part is when the different schools of fish swim out during the small ensemble brass work in "Aurora Awakes" and then all of that builds to the glorious Aurora Awakes final hits. The whole section alone punches quite far above Surf's current scoring range. Just brilliantly written, and delicious every time. I could watch that whole section over and over.

Music City --- The definition of awesome little moments. Every time I roll my eyes when they come on, wanting something deeper, and every time I'm always surprised (stupidly) to find myself smiling, nodding, laughing, enjoying every bit of the cheese. It's fabulous. So many little details; mice sweeping the floor, mice square dancing, mice from the country getting stuck in traffic....love it all. But, the best "moment" has got to be the Imagine closer. It gets me every time. I always forget it's coming up and I always forget how perfect it is.

Genesis ---- Listen. If you haven't seen their Susanne Sundfor "The Sound of War" ballad impact where they push all of the ladders together and create one of the best vertical visual moments of the season, then what exactly are you doing with your life?? Don't answer that, because I don't care; it's not a good enough excuse. Watch it on the next FLO broadcast and thank me later. It's that good.

Troop --- I actually think this show is chock full of a ton of moments to appreciate. The Dragonheart ballad is the bee's knees, especially with the flag work in the back left corner on the other side of the tarp boundaries. Persichetti opening trumpet solo. Karl Jenkins closer with the drumline chanting underneath. The way the drill is written so well with the boundary tarps. Love it all!

Scouts --- Despite this not being my favorite show (although leagues better than last year), the rotating boxes at the end of the opener are fire. The jazzy YPG is an excellent closer. I don't get week in the knees at the closing Scouts stuff & fleur de lis, but I can appreciate why those ending moments make everyone else go crazy.

Pacific Crest --- Eddddddwardddddd Scissorrrrhandddzzzzzzz closerrrrrr. With the multicolored flags & the triangles changing colors like crazy. BRILLIANT. I legit teared up watching all of that on the Atlanta broadcast. I'm nuts about the whole design, but that Edward Scissorhands closer will remain one of the best of this season. Oh, and, of course, their giant opening statement that forces a silent eyebrow raise in surprise every time as they let you know how serious they are this year.

Colts --- Tons of great moments. This is one of the better designed shows of the season, in my opinion. The flyover and hell freezing over, uniform change, and subsequent transition to the Chopin piano piece is excellence bar none. The opening Robert W. Smith's "Inferno" chords (which I believe is a nice & crunchy in Db Minor). The almost-Malaguena-esque "Dulcinea" before the flyover with the snake/ribbon flags (I wish I knew what to properly call them) that makes hell seem like a downright marvelous place to be. The Knockin on Heaven's Door closer. I love it all!!

Academy --- Of course, the BOTW ballad and magnificently talented flugelhorn soloist. I also really enjoy the opening drum break with fast parallel lines between the bridges.

Spirit --- The entire Color Wheel closer. The "let the beat drop" start and initial impact! The use of the door at the end!! 

Phantom --- Carmina Burana, of course. Both times. The final FOEG unleashing. The burning of Joan at the end.

Crossmen --- More than anything, each individual performer's commitment to selling the show. But, back to moments, the Ride of the Valkyries bone feature, that INSANE first full brass statement and the whole entrance onto the field leading up to it, the slow & powerful statements to close the show after so much fast movement.

Mandarins --- The opening djembe scene, the tribal choreography immediately after that sends you straight into this subterranean world, and, of course, the relentless ending that leaves you on the edge of your seat (or standing up).

BK --- The slow slow slow build with drumline punctuating the brass chords and pushing it all forward to the all-red release from the guard in a giant circle back right. The nakedness of the ballad. The color palette in the closer that all leads to the rotating boxes with the guard members remaining in the circles of mirrors. All of it is sheer brilliance, in my opinion. Love this show.

Cavies --- There are endless moments to love in this show --- especially the party in third class section --- but one in particular stands in the top moments of all 22 WC shows this season: the 45 seconds from the first ballad impact to the final release. That's what drum corps is all about!!!! I seriously cannot get enough of that final ballad push. The mello lines underneath, the mello sustain, the brass just pushing further and further, the weaving musicality beneath it all...perfection. This is the fourth show in a row I've loved from Cavies, and that last 45 seconds of the ballad tops anything they've done that I've loved in recent years. One of the best of the season!

Boston --- The herald trumpets, the HUGE opening impact dripping with power, the Rocky themes, the Tears for Fears ballad impact with the brass all moving downbeats in unison....tons of great moments.

Crown --- The opening note, of course. The brass double tonguing spot in Rabbit & Rogue. The Gabriel's Oboe impact with the soloist floating above. The ENTIRE Bucimis closer, including the horn toss & company front.

SCV --- This was a hard one for me; not because I don't love the show, because I do (particularly the brass book), but because I find that the show doesn't really have many memorable moments, nor do I think that was the intent. It's more of a sensory overload coming at you nonstop for 12 minutes. But, how quickly I forgot about the ending of the Metallica ballad where the guard is quasi-bottle dancing and the brass opens up in this glorious manner that you don't see anywhere else in the show. And, of course, the sousaphone solo! The way the opener grips you from the first note. The fabulous unison flatwork in the closer.

BD --- So so so so so much to love. The ghostly opening notes. The opening Oedipus voiceovers in octaves. The Kachaturian impact. Of course, the wall interaction moment. The Circus impact!!!!!!!! THE ENTIRE BEAUTIFUL, LYRICAL BALLAD WITH THE SWEEPING SPOTLIGHT DRILL!! (That probably gets my vote for favorite moment of all 22 WC shows). Of course the ghostly shoes tap dancing. The yellow at the end. Too much to even name with this show.

Bloo --- See BD comments. Way too much to list off in these two championship-worthy shows. I love both equally and in different ways. For Bloo, the opening Strawberry Fields quote, the entire Eleanor Rigby section with the mellow playing crazy ostinatos (ostinati?) under the famous melody. The difficult trumpet writing that was created out of Eleanor Rigby. The trombone solo and then following brass ridiculousness. The ENTIRETY of Blackbird. Come Together, and then I Want You/She's So Heavy, which is second in my mind only to BD's ballad this season. So hot & jazzy & dirty and somehow uncannily faithful to the original song. The Hey Jude closer (although I'm still waiting on the transition to it to clean up!). The attention to detail in the costuming. 

All in all, I could not be more pleased with the shows this year!!!!

[oldbandguy]

My favorite moment of 2019...there are soooo many, but believe it or not for me it is the AMAZING diminuendo chord in the Bluecoats mvt 1.  All done while on the move.  So simple, but oh so difficult...and usually done to perfection.

[OldSnareDrummer]

Though it happens frequently, the jostling for position among the top 15 corps as the season progressed. Seeing Bloo vs BD go back and forth. Can PR stay in Finals. Mandarins vs Cadets. Madison working their tails off to remain relevant.