Which is your favorite 3rd place show of the decade?

[Musicman1084]

5 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

I think amplified voice in drum corps should be used sparingly, because more singing generally means less for the brass to do, and brass is a sine qua non of this activity. So while voice was used successfully in this show and some others (like Session 44 and Wicked Games), it still detracts from the show, for me, when the melody for a song or two or three is handed over to a non-brass (or non-mallet) instrument.

But it gets even harder to judge the success of this show given that the voice, which was the lead instrument for half the production, was missing in Semifinals and Finals because of microphone troubles. How the G.E. and music analysis judges were supposed to evaluate something that wasn't there as if it was there is a mystery for the ages.

I can understand your point, and while I may not necessarily share the same feelings, I know where you're coming from. What was difficult for me was seeing so much hate directed towards that poor member when others (like Session 44 and Wicked Games) were being praised. She did a fine job, and others were very inappropriate with their attacks saying she was incompetent, all because they wanted to hear Crown brass. 

With or without the singer, I still find that Crown production very enjoyable, which I feel puts me in the minority.

[KVG_DC]

Kinetic Noise.  What they were doing musically with that show between mashups of tunes was fantastic.  Mr. Maps/Gene takes a Drink was a stellar example.  The voiceover bleeding to the drum writing caught the spirit of the source music so well.
 

Session 44 got a long look from me as well.  That singer was everything.

[N.E. Brigand]

59 minutes ago, Musicman1084 said:

I can understand your point, and while I may not necessarily share the same feelings, I know where you're coming from. What was difficult for me was seeing so much hate directed towards that poor member when others (like Session 44 and Wicked Games) were being praised. She did a fine job, and others were very inappropriate with their attacks saying she was incompetent, all because they wanted to hear Crown brass. 

With or without the singer, I still find that Crown production very enjoyable, which I feel puts me in the minority.

Gotcha. I think her singing was well done.

[jwillis35]

Definitely gets more difficult the higher the placement. 

My top 4 would be: 

1. Carolina Crown 2016, Relentless. Fantastic show from beginning to end. As much as I like BD in 2016, I though Crown had them at Finals. Loved the music choices, and this was one of their best staged shows since the 2013 title winner. Guard was fantastic. Brass was amazing as always. Percussion was very solid. The theme was fantastic as well. That's the kind of show I love. I wish the Troopers would do something like this.

2. Bluecoats 2018, Session 44 - top to bottom a total show, and real jazz done well. This is the best show I've ever heard with live vocalist. The staging was perfect and the props were outstanding. There is not much to complain about when watching this show, at least not for me. As always with Bloo, the outfits were classy and the theme and color choices seemed perfect to me.

3. Cadets 2013. Side X Side - From a total show point of view, this one would rank higher for me if they had a better theme that year with better used props. The somewhat weaker guard (by Cadets standards) did not help either. Otherwise, this corps was a total BEAST!!!! in music and drill (I believe they were 2nd in visual proficiency). They took 1st in percussion, 2nd in brass, won overall music ensemble, and absolutely marched their tootsies off to an extremely difficult visual program. Not to mention their music book was really great stuff with Bocook producing a masterpiece of brass writing for field. This might be one of the best shows to just listen to in the car or at home. 

4. Phantom Regiment 2012, Turandot - some very big goose bump moments in this show. was not surprised they took 3rd. In many ways it's a classic Phantom show. Big sound, emotional music scoring, and a solid visual program. 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by jwillis35

[jwillis35]

1 hour ago, Musicman1084 said:

I can understand your point, and while I may not necessarily share the same feelings, I know where you're coming from. What was difficult for me was seeing so much hate directed towards that poor member when others (like Session 44 and Wicked Games) were being praised. She did a fine job, and others were very inappropriate with their attacks saying she was incompetent, all because they wanted to hear Crown brass. 

With or without the singer, I still find that Crown production very enjoyable, which I feel puts me in the minority.

Yeah, the young lady was wonderful. And I didn't mind the singing, but there was likely too much of it. However, to me, the problem Crown 2017 had was the choice of music. The musical content for the back half of that show simply did not measure up to the front half. The theme was also a difficult one to push into the stands for the audience or judges. From a performance perspective they were one of the cleaner corps on the field, with amazing brass, percussion, and a killer drill. That's how they grabbed 3rd place. That corps could absolutely perform. I didn't like the 2nd half of that show, but I loved watching them perform. 

[runyancm]

1 hour ago, jwillis35 said:

Yeah, the young lady was wonderful. And I didn't mind the singing, but there was likely too much of it. However, to me, the problem Crown 2017 had was the choice of music. The musical content for the back half of that show simply did not measure up to the front half. The theme was also a difficult one to push into the stands for the audience or judges. From a performance perspective they were one of the cleaner corps on the field, with amazing brass, percussion, and a killer drill. That's how they grabbed 3rd place. That corps could absolutely perform. I didn't like the 2nd half of that show, but I loved watching them perform. 

I loved what Anna did, and my heart sunk on Finals night with the audio failures.

And I am one of the few who LOVED Crown's closer that year.  Really liked how it integrated vocals, brass and percussion, great drill (Sacktig Crown!), and I thought it had a lot of nice and effective visual touches.  Gets a lot of replay for me.

Having said that, my vote went to Relentless.  Great Guard, Great Brass with GREAT music selections top to bottom, and nice, effective, accessible show theme.

I need to give Kinetic Noise more attention based on this poll.  I really thought Session 44 would have won this category, and I am actually more a fan of Metropolis amongst Bluecoats' offerings here.

One cool thing about these polls, gives you the opportunity to revisit highly regarded shows that maybe did not make an initial impression, and therefore, not much rewatch.  I have my homework.

[N.E. Brigand]

The drill package for XtraordinarY wasn't as visually interesting as that for Mad World, in my opinion, but Cavs made up for it in physicality. And this mid-season video doesn't feature the great move they added for the closer a couple weeks later (revisiting what they'd done in 2008), nor the great twist they added for championships:

 

[boxingfred]

Session 44 (Bluecoats 2018)- NUFF SAID!

[MikeRapp]

On 8/28/2019 at 5:46 PM, KVG_DC said:

Kinetic Noise.  What they were doing musically with that show between mashups of tunes was fantastic.  Mr. Maps/Gene takes a Drink was a stellar example.  The voiceover bleeding to the drum writing caught the spirit of the source music so well.
 

Session 44 got a long look from me as well.  That singer was everything.

I just loved the concept of Session 44, partially because the first time I saw the show I thought it was a miss. So much subtlety and nuance in the performances. And after the unending criticism of Crown’s vocal design concept I thought it took real guts to go out and do a show with so much live singing.

[Ghost]

18 minutes ago, MikeRapp said:

  So much subtlety and nuance in the performances. And after the unending criticism of Crown’s vocal design concept I thought it took real guts to go out and do a show with so much live singing.

Maybe, but that show would have not worked without the great singing.  Her style and voice fit perfectly with the music.