The 2000 Thread

[Jeff Ream]

I was teaching a DCA corps, so I didn't see much til August....the resurrected Dream show I saw crown, Spirit plus Surf...scores way too high, and Surf was the only one I really liked. Probable too much rehearsal in NJ that weekend wore me down

 

so lets get to Allentown, night 1...holy hell cavaliers! in fact I was stunned BD was that close. I loved BK, Glassmen not as fun as 98/99, Colts were fun and Spirit improved. Pioneer at their D1 best, troop always gets a good reaction, Kiwanis had fallen off, Tarheel Sun trying to crawl up the ranks, then Beatrix.

Night 2, easily the better night.....Cadets just wow. SCV....Adagio and Stained Glass...Boston showed far more than the score gave them..Phantom...eh...i wanted to like it..Crossmen Birdland pat 2000000, Bluecoats ( i am biased..many ties to staff and members) beat Madison ( rightly so), then Crown...Southwind also better than the score...oh next week will be fun.

 

Wednesday I drove down to catch 2/3 finals...SCVC wow...Mandarins really good,  Patriots a lot of fun and Surf catching fire...also loved Seattle.

Thursday...Cadets and cavies oh so close. BD...i dunno...kept leaving me flat....SCV wow..Boston 5th?? like a shot at live TV? BK on fire..Gmen Phantom Crossmen about where expected...madison a big jump in a week then crown and Bloo just staying above a surging Southwind..Colts, Spirit, and Pioneer moving on as does...SCVC!

Friday..cadets open up the spread on Cavies....then not much shuffling...but Bloo back in, Southwind just missing

 

Saturday...the tie. Cavies and cadets brought their A game. over the last 20 years I have gone back and forth over which one should have won and now...#### it.....they were both great. Bd a solid 3rd all hyped up when Bass 2 ran on the field as they played the warmup, SCV bringing down the house with Adagio...holy #### that was loud....and Boston Top 5 Live! Holy hell from first time finalist in 99 to on PBS live a year later....they owned the crowd. Also...the last great audience participation for ..|.|...BK again on fire...the rest of the group pretty much where they had been.

 

Some great shows, but past the top 6 and Bloo bias, nothing truly sticks out. Cadets percussion amazing as well as the whole corps...Cavies with the start of them taking over the activity...BD good, but felt flat...SCV and Boston with ballads for the ages...BK with a drive and energy they never had before or since.....a turning point year in the activity

[MikeD]

Cadets 2000 has one of my all time favorite tenor features. A GREAT show all around as well. 

[Continental]

2000 Vanguard.

Absolutely loved this show.  I was able to see it live.  It took a month for my hair to grow back after the Adagio.

So many great Vanguard touches throughout.  The linking of arms during the quiet ending was just so nice. 

 

Edited July 21, 2020 by Continental

[MikeN]

This was the first year that DCI tried streaming finals, thanks to Mars Music (ah, Mars Music).  I got to see the San Antonio show this year (and pretty much every year since), and it was a blast.  It was, however, the *only* DCI show I've ever watched from the upper deck.  This was also around the time RAMD online was in total chaos, having been taken over by a few strong personalities that dominated every discussion.  Good thing that's never happened here.  😐

The Cadets should have won the whole thing, without having to share.  Their musical program was head and shoulders above everyone else, and Millennium Celebration felt it like it had been created just for them.  Classic Cadets brass arrangements alternated between light and dark, technical passages.  Of course, everyone wants to talk about the closer.  True story - in San Antonio they set up for their encore, and as soon as they started the drum ostinato, there was a mad rush for literally everyone in the entire upper deck to crowd down by the rails to see the tenors better from up above.  I'd never seen anything like it.  

Cavaliers threw out the first pitch on their 2000's formula, and it definitely worked for them.  Massive drill movements that flow one to the next, don't leave individuals or files isolated, lots and lots and lots of rotations.  It's just a shame that the music is so... ugly.  They leaned haaaaard into experimental Wind Ensemble music, and while they did what they do really well, what they did wasn't the most fun ever.  This show never makes my playlists.  

I'd have had Blue Devils second, honestly.  Methods of Madness was a bit of a throwback to start, then veered hard into Not Jazz.  But for them, it worked so well.  The entire program just captures the essence of Hermann's music so well, and they of course sell it like pros.  (I'd also like to throw out that the 1999-2003 versions of their uniforms, where they shortened the jacket, are the absolute pinnacle of their uniform design.  Tracksuit pinstripes can stuff it.)  I kinda liked the show better before they added the brass tag on Finals night too, where it just bomp bomp bomp ends.  

Vanguard was in a tough place, in that their post-championship show was probably better programmed than their title shot, but the competition at the top was also way tougher.  Adagio for Strings brought the house down all summer, and Stained Glass is *still* a masterclass in how to adapt percussion for brass.  Not quite Peak Gusseck/Cassella, but man was it close.  (Funny note about Generational DCI; my kiddo (marched 17-18) watched this one with me and asked, "why the heck are they all moving so *slow*?!?  Ah, I guess everything is relative.)

Boston managed shoot up like a rocket, jumping all the way up into the live show with an absolutely epic show.  Red had a little bit of everything - a *ton* of symmetrical drill, which stood out, Bolero was a perfect choice as a framing device, and the singing in Con te Partiro was a crowd favorite.  The only gripes I have with the show, and these are indeed minor, is that the battery was kind of hidden in the show to a degree top corps don't normally do, and the Symphonic Dance/Fiesta closer felt kind of uninspired.  Like I said, though - that's minor. Overall, this is still one of the best shows Boston has put out, and ties for their best finish.

Blue Knights achieved their highest finish in 2000, and they did it with a very cerebral program that highlighted brass virtuosity.  It definitely was a lightning-in-a-bottle set of charts that probably shouldn't have worked as well as they did, but their performers sold the heck out of the show.  I don't know if anyone that year walked away singing the melodies, but everyone sure enjoyed the heck out of what they were doing. 

Phantom reinvented themselves a bit this year. The black look was finally gone, replaced with khaki and white.  Personal disclaimer - I thought it was a wonderful look for them, as it was a very neutral pallette to build on, but Michael Cesario later complained that the khaki actually camouflaged the corps.  Musically, they restyled themselves a bit to present bite-sized pieces of some pretty famous if less obvious cuts, and they melded well.  It's still my favorite arrangement of Rite of Spring, as they manage to hit the highlights of the work in about 3 minutes.  Especially in the Alamodome, the big concert toms they carried in the closer had oomph - too bad they didn't play at Lucas Oil back then!

Glassmen for me had this weird "even year" curse.  I loved their odd years, and really didn't care for their even years.  The brassline suffered a hit of quality going from 1999 to 2000, where Kodaly felt laser-focused, the Gershwin was fuzzy around the edges.  I realize complaining about falling from 5th to 8th is definitely First World Problems though.  

Crossmen brought back Birdland.  Again.  3 times in 5 years.  I know they had a quality program otherwise, but I ... just can't.  Sorry, I feel like I keep hammering Crossmen; I promise they do have shows I like - in fact, 2001 is probably one of my favorite jazz programs in all of DCI history!  We're just not there yet.

Madison fell off a cliff this year.  I've read the board minutes from those years; Scott Stewart was bound and determined to flick a finger at DCI judging, and show design was starting to work at cross purposes.  It didn't help that they decided to toss jazz from the repertoire.  The end result was an unfocused program that probably got salvaged due to the talent of the membership.  Apologies, Madison fans, as you know it doesn't get better from here for a while.

Carolina Crown kept at their soundtrack era, this time choosing a middle of the road movie score instead of a middle of the road Broadway show.  I actually had the score to Mask of Zorro as soon as the movie came out, and it honestly had about 32 bars of actual melody to it.  I wasn't sure how they were going to turn that into a 12 minute show, and honestly... well... beyond the opener, it didn't do anything for me.  If I were a GE judge, I'd have had them in 13th.  

Bluecoats snuck back into finals with a new concept - it's Jazz, but more symphonic!  (Ah, if only we knew then what we know now...)  They pulled it off well.  However...

Southwind should have made Finals.  I'm not the first to say that, heck - I'm not the first that year to have said it - but I have no idea what the judges were thinking.  They were absolutely rock solid across the board and had no discernable weaknesses.  Not only would I have put them top 12, they wouldn't have been 12th either.  

Other highlights - Vanguard Cadets, Cascades and Patriots still pushed the Dark Symphonic stuff hard, but it was good to see everyone else take a bit of a stop back.  Troopers were still solidly stuck in their programming rut.  Kiwanis kind of felt like the beginning of the end for them, and Tarheel Sun had their last jazz program before folding.  Dang shame - they were always a massive corps that (on the field at least) had a definite idea of what they wanted to be.  

Next year in 2001.  Swan Song for RAMD online, the real start of the Cavaliers Era and the full ascent of any-key brass.  

Mike

[Tony Flores]

I was supposed to be in Moscow for finals week, but the Aeroflot project got pushed a month, so i was scheduled to be in DC for 2 weeks which included Finals day so i scrounged for a ticket and git a nice 45yd line side 2 ticket and boom...great finals night. I still remember Boston just blowing me away that top 6 might possibly be one of the most entertaining top 6 in the past 20 years...definitely in the 00's

[Continental]

10 hours ago, MikeD said:

Cadets 2000 has one of my all time favorite tenor features. A GREAT show all around as well. 

I saw Cadets live in early August that year.  Vanguard performed before them at the same show. 

I remember all the early season hype and the recordings released before the tour.  There was so much hype for the music they were doing.

There was a lot that was changed between the pre-season recordings and the time before I saw them. All the while people were following the move to all-inclusive brass.   Was it any better?

I walked away from the show feeling that Vanguard blew the house down and Cadets brass was just not as powerful.  At that point I felt that all-inclusive brass might not have been the best of changes.  

I know Cadets were good in 2000.  I just didn't think they were the cat's meow. 

Edited July 21, 2020 by Continental

[Continental]

2000 Cavaliers

 

[Continental]

2000 Boston Crusaders.

I miss these uniforms.

 

Edited July 22, 2020 by Continental

[Jeff Ream]

1 hour ago, MikeN said:

This was the first year that DCI tried streaming finals, thanks to Mars Music (ah, Mars Music).  I got to see the San Antonio show this year (and pretty much every year since), and it was a blast.  It was, however, the *only* DCI show I've ever watched from the upper deck.  This was also around the time RAMD online was in total chaos, having been taken over by a few strong personalities that dominated every discussion.  Good thing that's never happened here.  😐

The Cadets should have won the whole thing, without having to share.  Their musical program was head and shoulders above everyone else, and Millennium Celebration felt it like it had been created just for them.  Classic Cadets brass arrangements alternated between light and dark, technical passages.  Of course, everyone wants to talk about the closer.  True story - in San Antonio they set up for their encore, and as soon as they started the drum ostinato, there was a mad rush for literally everyone in the entire upper deck to crowd down by the rails to see the tenors better from up above.  I'd never seen anything like it.  

Cavaliers threw out the first pitch on their 2000's formula, and it definitely worked for them.  Massive drill movements that flow one to the next, don't leave individuals or files isolated, lots and lots and lots of rotations.  It's just a shame that the music is so... ugly.  They leaned haaaaard into experimental Wind Ensemble music, and while they did what they do really well, what they did wasn't the most fun ever.  This show never makes my playlists.  

I'd have had Blue Devils second, honestly.  Methods of Madness was a bit of a throwback to start, then veered hard into Not Jazz.  But for them, it worked so well.  The entire program just captures the essence of Hermann's music so well, and they of course sell it like pros.  (I'd also like to throw out that the 1999-2003 versions of their uniforms, where they shortened the jacket, are the absolute pinnacle of their uniform design.  Tracksuit pinstripes can stuff it.)  I kinda liked the show better before they added the brass tag on Finals night too, where it just bomp bomp bomp ends.  

Vanguard was in a tough place, in that their post-championship show was probably better programmed than their title shot, but the competition at the top was also way tougher.  Adagio for Strings brought the house down all summer, and Stained Glass is *still* a masterclass in how to adapt percussion for brass.  Not quite Peak Gusseck/Cassella, but man was it close.  (Funny note about Generational DCI; my kiddo (marched 17-18) watched this one with me and asked, "why the heck are they all moving so *slow*?!?  Ah, I guess everything is relative.)

Boston managed shoot up like a rocket, jumping all the way up into the live show with an absolutely epic show.  Red had a little bit of everything - a *ton* of symmetrical drill, which stood out, Bolero was a perfect choice as a framing device, and the singing in Con te Partiro was a crowd favorite.  The only gripes I have with the show, and these are indeed minor, is that the battery was kind of hidden in the show to a degree top corps don't normally do, and the Symphonic Dance/Fiesta closer felt kind of uninspired.  Like I said, though - that's minor. Overall, this is still one of the best shows Boston has put out, and ties for their best finish.

Blue Knights achieved their highest finish in 2000, and they did it with a very cerebral program that highlighted brass virtuosity.  It definitely was a lightning-in-a-bottle set of charts that probably shouldn't have worked as well as they did, but their performers sold the heck out of the show.  I don't know if anyone that year walked away singing the melodies, but everyone sure enjoyed the heck out of what they were doing. 

Phantom reinvented themselves a bit this year. The black look was finally gone, replaced with khaki and white.  Personal disclaimer - I thought it was a wonderful look for them, as it was a very neutral pallette to build on, but Michael Cesario later complained that the khaki actually camouflaged the corps.  Musically, they restyled themselves a bit to present bite-sized pieces of some pretty famous if less obvious cuts, and they melded well.  It's still my favorite arrangement of Rite of Spring, as they manage to hit the highlights of the work in about 3 minutes.  Especially in the Alamodome, the big concert toms they carried in the closer had oomph - too bad they didn't play at Lucas Oil back then!

Glassmen for me had this weird "even year" curse.  I loved their odd years, and really didn't care for their even years.  The brassline suffered a hit of quality going from 1999 to 2000, where Kodaly felt laser-focused, the Gershwin was fuzzy around the edges.  I realize complaining about falling from 5th to 8th is definitely First World Problems though.  

Crossmen brought back Birdland.  Again.  3 times in 5 years.  I know they had a quality program otherwise, but I ... just can't.  Sorry, I feel like I keep hammering Crossmen; I promise they do have shows I like - in fact, 2001 is probably one of my favorite jazz programs in all of DCI history!  We're just not there yet.

Madison fell off a cliff this year.  I've read the board minutes from those years; Scott Stewart was bound and determined to flick a finger at DCI judging, and show design was starting to work at cross purposes.  It didn't help that they decided to toss jazz from the repertoire.  The end result was an unfocused program that probably got salvaged due to the talent of the membership.  Apologies, Madison fans, as you know it doesn't get better from here for a while.

Carolina Crown kept at their soundtrack era, this time choosing a middle of the road movie score instead of a middle of the road Broadway show.  I actually had the score to Mask of Zorro as soon as the movie came out, and it honestly had about 32 bars of actual melody to it.  I wasn't sure how they were going to turn that into a 12 minute show, and honestly... well... beyond the opener, it didn't do anything for me.  If I were a GE judge, I'd have had them in 13th.  

Bluecoats snuck back into finals with a new concept - it's Jazz, but more symphonic!  (Ah, if only we knew then what we know now...)  They pulled it off well.  However...

Southwind should have made Finals.  I'm not the first to say that, heck - I'm not the first that year to have said it - but I have no idea what the judges were thinking.  They were absolutely rock solid across the board and had no discernable weaknesses.  Not only would I have put them top 12, they wouldn't have been 12th either.  

Other highlights - Vanguard Cadets, Cascades and Patriots still pushed the Dark Symphonic stuff hard, but it was good to see everyone else take a bit of a stop back.  Troopers were still solidly stuck in their programming rut.  Kiwanis kind of felt like the beginning of the end for them, and Tarheel Sun had their last jazz program before folding.  Dang shame - they were always a massive corps that (on the field at least) had a definite idea of what they wanted to be.  

Next year in 2001.  Swan Song for RAMD online, the real start of the Cavaliers Era and the full ascent of any-key brass.  

Mike

I agree in Southwind. Who didn't belong IMO was Madison.

 

and IMO Bostons battery was hidden by design

[mfrontz]

1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:

I agree in Southwind. Who didn't belong IMO was Madison.

 

and IMO Bostons battery was hidden by design

I just listened today to Bluecoats. Do you know who wrote their drumline? Obviously it wasn't Thurston but I feel like it's a Thurston-inspired vibe. Then again, it was jazz(y)...