Which is your favorite 2nd place show of the decade?

[ThePlanets 890]

This is probably the hardest decision out of these threads. There are many 2nd place shows that are dear to my heart extending back to SCV 87 and Phantom 89. I am sure there are many more from the 70s/80s/90s that I haven't seen film on.

 

As for this group. This group is host to 3 of my all time top 10 shows and 5 of my top 20. All 10 of these shows were phenomenal in their own right. I think it's also noteworthy that I like the majority of these shows MORE than ALL of the championship winning shows of the last decade.

10. Ouroboros- incredibly clean from start to finish. SCV had their act together. They moved all over the field too! Somewhat sterile and it didn't have the charm and beauty of SCV 12-16 or the power and awe of 18/19.

9. As Dreams are Made On- I liked this show and found it much more accessible than many of the BD shows from 10-14. I just can't separate it from Ink and they have too many similarities in my mind. 

8. Re:Rite of Spring- I found this show to be very powerful yet interesting that BD would dedicate an entire show to this particular piece of historical music literature. It never really did take off though- leaving the door open for Crowns first championship.

7. The Beat my Heart Skipped- the most entertaining BD show from 2010-2015. In my opinion.

6. Dreams and Nighthawks- were as 19 was a 1/2 battle for BD. I felt the top 3 overall shows and the top 4 were all very close musically in 2018. This is my favorite hornline of those I have heard live from BD and I just can't get over those chords. I don't think any other corps can do that. 

GAP (sorry BD. Those shows are great but don't make my all time favorite list. The shows below do)

5. The Bluecoats- Absolutely genius musical arrangements and the Bluecoats at their absolute best. Fan favorite for sure. I can't wait to see what they come up with next year. Amazing how such simple, popular music can be arranged into a masterpiece 

4. Tilt- Another one of the most well written and accessible shows of the decade. Simple concept, beautiful music. I still get a tear in my eye listening to Hymn of Acxiom...even though it's the creepiest song ever. My mom's all time favorite show. Funny I asked her after finals this year and she still picked TILT over the Bluecoats.

3. For the Common Good- this show is one of the most beautiful, clean drum corps to take the field and the show that started my obsession with drum corps after my husband took me to 2012 finals. This gets my award for cleanest, crispest brass of all time. Man this show is just great. The coolest thing was given the theming of Cabaret Voltaire and this show it was a total good guy vs bad guy.

Now 1st and 2nd here are 2 of my top 4 and some days top 3 drum corps shows of all time. They are a virtual tie but I had to pick only one show. (If anyone is curious Kinetic Noise and That One Second are my other all time favorites).

2. Inferno- This is probably the most impressed I have ever been with a live show and my husband would argue that it's the best DCI show of all time. Their use of minimal props, guard, and acting of the hornline was unbelievable. Then there is how fantastic the hornline is in general. The funny thing is I liked it better than Kinetic Noise live but it doesn't get as much replay for me.

1. Mad World- Definitely my favorite Cavaliers show. It has the total package of what I am looking for in a perfect DCI show and that can't be overlooked. It has great, well played, accessible music; a killer percussion feature, typical mind-blowing Cavaliers drill, and a GE/story telling/impression giving component from the MMs that is unmatchable. 

 

This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life 

[Cadevilina Crown 5,071]

I’m a bit surprised at how relatively little love there is for Crown 2012. It’s one of the most ambitious shows I’ve ever seen, and in any other year where BD wasn’t quite as strong, it would have won. Also, it’s my favorite Crown brass book (and Crown hornline) ever.

Anyway, For the Common Good gets my vote. Tilt is a close second for its lasting impact on show design today.

Edited August 29, 2019 by Cadevilina Crown

[KVG_DC 7,306]

5 minutes ago, ThePlanets said:

 

GAP (sorry BD. Those shows are great but don't make my all time favorite list. The shows below do)

 

You know.  This is sort of my reflection as well.  BD has a lot of fantastic 2nd place shows but it seems they're a bit of a 'miss' when they finish second.  It's likely because we compare them to the stellar championship shows they produce.    Must be nice when your 'off year that misses' still lands in second!  hah.

[gak27 619]

InfernoTiltCommonGoodTheBluecoats

TiltInfernoTheBluecoatsCommonGood

.

.

you get the idea...wound up voting for Inferno, but geez that was hard...

[ThePlanets 890]

13 minutes ago, gak27 said:

InfernoTiltCommonGoodTheBluecoats

TiltInfernoTheBluecoatsCommonGood

.

.

you get the idea...wound up voting for Inferno, but geez that was hard...

Haha me too! But throw in Mad World. Incredibly hard! Some of the best shows of the decade!

Edited August 29, 2019 by ThePlanets

[onionhead 474]

Blue Devils- The Beat my Heart skipped. For music alone, I have not seen the show, but I love the music.

[Tim K 3,240]

1 hour ago, Cadevilina Crown said:

I’m a bit surprised at how relatively little love there is for Crown 2012. It’s one of the most ambitious shows I’ve ever seen, and in any other year where BD wasn’t quite as strong, it would have won. Also, it’s my favorite Crown brass book (and Crown hornline) ever.

Anyway, For the Common Good gets my vote. Tilt is a close second for its lasting impact on show design today.

I voted Bluecoats 2019, but up till this year it would have been Crown 2012. I also think both shows should have won, and in the case of Crown 2012, at least their semifinals performance should have won.

[N.E. Brigand 6,613]

5 hours ago, ThePlanets said:

1. Mad World- Definitely my favorite Cavaliers show. It has the total package of what I am looking for in a perfect DCI show and that can't be overlooked. It has great, well played, accessible music; a killer percussion feature, typical mind-blowing Cavaliers drill, and a GE/story telling/impression giving component from the MMs that is unmatchable. 

This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life 

Partway through the season, the Cavaliers put out this time-lapse video (set to their ballad) which shows how great the drill package was::

 

[jwillis35 4,387]

Talk about a tough category. I'll take every show here any day of the week! WOW. So many great shows...as you would imagine for 2nd place. 

1. Bluecoats, The Bluecoats 2019 - absolutely adore this show and the near seamless design and transitions. The music is incredible, the staging and marching is spot on, and the show entertained so many fans. 

2. Carolina Crown, Inferno 2015 - You don't get that many fans to go crazy over your show if you're not good. Crown was a HIT in 2015! Came up short on Finals night, but the quality of that show is indisputable! That's how you present classical music on the field.

3. Bluecoats, Tilt 2014 - This is the show that began Bloo's series of game-changing designs

4. Blue Devils, The Beat My Heart Skipped 2011 - Tough call with all the BD shows because they are all monsters. In some ways I find 2016 the most well-rounded, and 2018 was a show I loved all season, but 2011 was perhaps the most fun in terms of music. I still listen to that in audio format all the time. Incredible stuff! If the question was best show, and not favorite, I might go with 2016 or 2013. For these purposes it's 2011. So much goodness in that show. Fun!

Keep in mind, we're talking very slight differences here. Every show on this list is darn near perfection. 

[MikeRapp 4,546]

9 hours ago, OldSnareDrummer said:

Same here. The execution and performances of all were arguably championship, but in terms of creativeness and innovation these stick out to me to be the best. 

In retrospect Tilt is a show that changed the way we see the activity. No one predicted Bluecoats to win the Silver and it set the stage for the big changes to come with DSU. When I want people to understand the coolness of this activity, I play them Tilt and DSU.