Popular Post ThePlanets Posted August 13, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted August 13, 2019 (edited) I wanted to post this after semi finals but life got in the way and my phone was dead. I'm glad I am posting now though since the season has had a few days to settle. Please feel free to post your thoughts on 2019 shows as well. Conveniently- I will be commenting on every WC corps and the top 3 in OC. 25. Seattle Cascades- all I can say is WOW. I knew if the Cascades were the 25 seed that this is a great year for drum corps. Those jazz soloists were phenomenal. The grid, itself was a little scary. I thought we learned our lesson with the Cavaliers last year. Feet getting caught left and right but no falls. Very cool when the grid was lifted though. 24. Jersey Surf- Oh man. I have always wanted to see Jersey Surf live and I finally got the opportunity to. Very musical, visually pleasing, and easy to follow. Liked the uniform change. Maybe not as fun as 12/13 but well done and tastefully performed. 23. Music City- Hello! Truth be told I watched them rehearse the percussion feature in Conneaut Lake on Sunday. Was hoping to stay longer but it started to rain. That's okay though because I was wowed by the brass, the overall GE, and the amount of color in this show. Sure it was probably too cute- but I thought it should have swapped with Genesis in placement. My favorite of the first group on the field. 22. Gold- Well. I'll be. This California group had no trouble making the trip to Indy, fielding 16 CONTRAS, and grabbing the OC bronze. A nice show that reminded me of the game of Life with unique color guard props and all original music. A major step up from last year. This is my pick for the next group to jump to world class. 21. Legends- I like this OC corps. Instead of the ocean I pictured the Siren of the great lakes taking down many ships at Whitefish point and Thunder Bay. Easy show to get into. 20. Genesis- Nice 10th anniversary tribute show with earthen tones. Quite interesting to see the Greensleeves waving out of the props. 19. The Spartans- Experiment X. The program description had me almost uninterested especially since I just saw another 10th anniversary show...but WOW I loved this one. They definitely deserved the OC victory... although Im a sucker for Latin music on the football field. 18. Troopers- There is definitely a gap between 19-25 and the Troop. The whole Star Trek thing wasn't my cup of tea but wow is that hornline tasty. 17. Madison Scouts- If you are interested you can read my full experience on the Madison hype train thread. This was probably the most emotional show of the year for me. Unbelievably fantastic. Really makes me want to go back in time and see the 75-97 scouts live. 16. The Colts- I think this show had the strongest GE of non-finalist corps. Hells Bells and throwing the trident then Hell freezes over and the visual effects mixed with the ice cold sounds of chimes in the pit. Very fun, musical, easy to follow show all around. 15. The Academy- Bridge over troubled water was beautiful. I don't know if I was still drained from the previous two shows but I really miss the fun Academy from 2015-2017. Very nice performance but probably the least interesting show design of the year (but hey- would have been middle of the pack most years). 14. Pacific Crest- Whaaa? The lights were a very cool effect and I want to congratulate them on their highest score and placement of all time. This show had a great message and was performed well. Didn't make me ugly cry like BK 2014 but still a nice show. 13. Spirit of Atlanta- I was hoping this show would go places but where it landed placement-wise is just about right. Very nice, musical show that mixed very modern stuff and swing. Three uniform changes. A bit overkill but that's okay. I think Spirit Blue is plenty neon for the neon underground. Visually the ATL was very cool. 12. Phantom Regiment- Although they ended up in 12th this is the best flicker of Hope and Phantom show since 2012. Absolutely beautiful brass moments. Arguably some of the best brass moments of the night. Some cool visual moments and the chant was powerful. Some very awkward transitions though. Regardless I have a good feeling about Phantom 2020 if they make some minor changes. 11. Crossmen- I. Love. This. Show. One of the most enjoyable of the year for me. The field entrance (props and all), the tambre of the guitar, the power, the percussion feature, some great brass licks, the ride of the Valkyrie motifs from the trombones. The Valkyrie visual. The weird costumes. Just a great show all around. Great job Crossmen. 10. The Mandarins- Very Creepy Show. Fantastic, dark brass. Loved that the tenor voice in brass was all Euphoniums. Very interesting to watch the guard (and battery) tell the story line throughout this show. The Mandarins are great at that. If they fix their percussion issues they could climb- but they have had 2 years in a row of shows that are actually kind of scary. 9. The Cadets- Percussion and battery were absolutely amazing and had some fantastic features. I did not feel empowered as a female by this show. And that's all I have to say about that. 8. Blue Stars- Another corps that brought me one of my favorite shows by them in years. I think that from a visual and narration standpoint this story was told very well. The brass and percussion also sounded great. Not sure how I feel about almost the entire corps going to bed during the solo...but I did like the tents😁 7. Blue Knights- My favorite show, at least musically, of the year. I also find the blurry mirrors to be a wonderful aide in the show theme. The brass and percussion are together. There are such open and exposed sections of the show. There are beautiful moments of pure silence and reflection. From the Hurt solo to the end is so powerful and emotional. 6. Boston Crusaders- Ah. Yes. Now we have entered the top 6. Huge jump. Brass sounded great, Guard was absolutely amazing and crucial to the story telling. Very nice, easy to follow show. They added some extra Gore for semis and people seemed to love the David v. Goliath fight. I didn't miss the shot this time. 5. The Cavaliers- Another wonderful, fun, easy to follow show. Brass and percussion were extremely powerful, and the Cavaliers Guard were great to watch for fighting and portraying the show theme. Easily one of the best Cavaliers hornlines of all time. 4. Carolina Crown- Compared to most- this was a no frills drum corps show. Lots of movement and classic marching and formations by the MMs and they provided great visuals. Brass was beautiful and extremely clean as expected for Crown and Gabriel's Oboe gets my nod for best ballad of the year. Percussion was tight and probably my favorite percussion feature of the year too. 3. Santa Clara Vanguard- you haven't heard loud until you have heard SCV 2019. Lots of aggression but also a good amount of beauty going on musically. Probably the most talented corps of 2019. I have no idea what was going on the whole time though. As a side note getting the sousaphone into the cage looked as difficult as mastering one of those puzzle games at the Cracker Barrel. 2. The Bluecoats- I think this show had the best musical arrangements of the year. Just sheer genius. A crowd favorite for years to come. So many little things going on at the beginning, Eleanor Rigby, just wow. Blackbird was absolutely beautiful, as most Bloo ballads are. Come together was a rock concert. Then they played an encore. Just WOW. 1. The Blue Devils- They came into the field with a swagger that only BD is capable of. It was obvious this was the most confident and comfortable corps of the year. They did some cool stuff with the multiple uses of props. My favorite thing about BD this year, as it is in most years, is the battery. I had my eyes on center snare the whole time as I know he is one of the most talented musicians on the field and it was his age out year. Overall I felt this was one of the most enjoyable years for DCI. Almost all of the shows were very entertaining. The singing trend seems to be dying down, there was a lot of diversity in show design, and many corps are starting to March and move again but unlike 15 years ago the emphasis is on overall GE, music and visual theming - rather than who can push the drill the farthest. This season went by fast and I am looking forward to what next year brings. ✌️ Edited August 13, 2019 by ThePlanets 9 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Excellent review! You know your drum corps, girl! 👏👏👏👏👏 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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