The 2001 Thread

[Continental]

12 hours ago, kdaddy said:

The only major criticism I've heard on here (or actually RAMD) about 2001 Regiment was the order of the tunes. Peter Bound was highly perturbed that Festive Overture was the closer and not the opener. I guess the powers that be took that criticism to heart, as he was named caption head (or co-caption head with JD Shaw) for the 2002 season.

I disagree with Mr. Bond and thought that the program order was excellent. 

Phantom originally did Festive Overture in '74.  Vanguard did it in '70 then '85.  The '85 version was absolutely iconic. 

While I appreciate that Phantom decided to play it again, it was up against one of the most beloved versions in the history of the activity.

A very hard act to follow.   

[Tony L.]

Must admit that after attending Finals in 2001 and even purchasing the DVD, it has been years since I have watched or listened to any of these shows (except for SCV).  I think I might have to revisit this season since all of the discussion makes me remember some cool shows I had forgotten about.  

[jwillis35]

The Cavaliers	1	98.350	Four Corners - Four Corners
Blue Devils	2	97.600	Awayday Blue - Awayday * Fantasy Variations (on George Gershwin's Second Prelude for Piano) * Paganini Variations
The Cadets	2	97.600	Juxtaperformance - A Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra * Moondance * Vide Cor Meum (from Hannibal) * Farandole (from L'Arlesienne)
Santa Clara Vanguard	4	95.350	New Era Metropolis - The Alarm * Short Ride in a Fast Machine * Jug Blues and Fat Pickin * Variants on a Medieval Tune * New Era Dance
Glassmen	5	94.300	IMAGO - Panambi – Invocation to the Powerful Spirits * Pampeana No 3 – Impetuosamente * Concertino for Oboe and Strings * Panambi – Dance of the Warriors * Pavana (from Tres Versiones Sinfonica)
Phantom Regiment	6	91.900	Virtuoso - Finale (from Concerto For Orchestra - 5th Movement) * Game of Pairs (from Concerto For Orchestra - 2nd Movement) * Festive Overture

 

[jwillis35]

Corps                    GE   Brass  Percussion  M&M/Visual  Penalty    Total
Cavaliers             39.40   19.20       19.60       29.65      0.0    98.35
Cadets                39.00   19.50       19.70       29.30      0.0    97.60
Blue Devils           38.40   19.90       19.50       29.65      0.0    97.60
Santa Clara Vanguard  38.30   19.60       19.00       28.15      0.0    95.35
Glassmen              37.60   18.70       19.40       28.40      0.0    94.30
Phantom Regiment      36.70   18.10       18.80       27.40      0.0    91.90
Crossmen              36.60   17.60       18.20       27.65      0.0    91.15
Bluecoats             36.30   18.50       17.80       27.20      0.0    90.75
Boston Crusaders      36.00   17.30       18.00       26.45      0.0    88.80
Carolina Crown        34.70   16.90       18.60       26.10      0.0    86.95
Madison Scouts        34.50   18.30       16.80       25.55      0.0    86.55
Colts                 33.90   16.50       17.20       25.60      0.0    84.90

[TheAngryBavarian]

This is WELL before my time, but I've found myself going through videos of shows from the mid-90's on to pass the time. I'll say my bit on '01

Colts: Solid enough, nothing particularly remarkable. Not too much to say here

Crown: Not able to find full show, 2 minute clip I saw was solid, tires were a unique touch

Scouts: Typical Scouts, again not able to find full show, but I did find an absolute gem of Rondo introducing them at NightBEAT. "You may take the field in competition and blow the doors off the *HIT* stadium"

BAC: Enjoyable music, arrangement of Gabriel's Oboe maybe a tad "extra" for my tastes, but a nice production

Bluecoats: Nothing super memorable, but well done, as usual

Crossmen: This was nice, Can't be mad at Jazz played well

Phantom: Typical Phantom, I feel I'm one of the few that actually kinda likes the khaki (although the all-black of a few years earlier is gorgeous). I'm a sucker for Shosty, so this show gets a few brownie points for me

Glassmen: This stylistically reminds me of Marian Catholic HS, very "stabby" (as one poster put it) opener, well done ballad (Flugel is very good) and a intriguing closer.

SCV: Another example of their turn-of-the-millenium thinkpiece shows. Short Ride and Fat Pickin' is a very friendly opener and the drumspeak section (before the Green and Maroon corps used it) is another unique touch

Cadets: No full show video again, (although I did find most of it in one video) but Moondance is always fun, the Hannibal is very warm and round (almost Phantomesque) and the Farandole is well done, with very nice drill as well

BD: Awayday is a great piece (one I've actually played) and their hornline was insane

Cavies: Michael Gaines and a very good drumline. Nuff said.

 

[jwillis35]

My overall feel for 2001 was that it was a good year for DCI but not a great year. I enjoyed many shows but also felt most of them just missed the mark by a little. 

The Cavaliers had the one show that I personally felt had total championship design. Four Corners featured excellent GE and visual with a stunning connection to the music and the timing of the phrases. They were strong in percussion and pretty darn good at brass. It was not their cleanest championship performance, but the overall design was there. The show absolutely captivated you when you viewed it live. I was lucky to see them 3 times that summer, including at Semifinals (could not stay for Finals sadly). It was clear even then that their integration of visual and music was beginning to lead the activity. The way they would highlight phrases musically and visually, often using sequenced patterns in movement and form to build musical phrases powered their design. They had done some of this in the 90s, but Gaines really took this to the next level along with their music staff who worked closely with him. I probably liked the 2000 show better musically, but 2001 was another leap forward in collaboration between visual and music, especially with the sense of timing, transition, and phrasing. The very next year they would give us a total masterpiece the likes of which we don't often get a chance to see in the activity. 

The Blue Devils and Cadets both felt similar to me only in different ways. Both corps were stunningly good at performing which was a staple for these programs in the 80s and 90s (and of course with BD in the 70s as well). That was no surprise. Seeing BD and Cadets near the top was sort of expected in those days, and still is even though Cadets have undergone many changes. The Cadets actually won high brass for most of the summer against everyone. There may have been a few shows where they did not win high brass, but most of the summer they did until Finals where I guess judges felt they did not lay down their best performance. The Blue Devils were also stunningly good at brass (duh!) and fine tuned that line all the way to finals and took the high brass trophy. Both corps sported amazing percussion sections as well with The Cadets winning percussion at Finals and BD took 3rd. Both BD and Cadets marched and played incredibly well. Their guards were outstanding, and the music was solid. But neither show felt like they had the total visual/GE connection of the Cavaliers. In a nutshell that was the difference. 

The Cadets' "Juxtaperformance" concept was flawed yet not horrible. The opener of "Young People's Guide..." felt outdated to me for some reason and never really did anything that made you stand up and notice the show. It was performed flawlessly. "Moondance" was a classic! Even the transition into it did work. The ballad from the movie "Hannibal" was a nice emotional moment and showed off that great brass line. "Farandole" showed off the technical side of the corps and the drill here was better with an exciting ending. In general, despite their strong performance captions the show did not take you from point A to Z, but it did give you some excellent moments nonetheless. They actually took 2nd in GE...but I consider 2001 to be a somewhat weak GE year (except for Cavaliers).

The Blue Devils gave us some "Awayday" and some Gershwin and Paganini. An odd assembly of music choices but they made it work for the most part. Brass was killer good and percussion was strong. The guard did an amazing job of trying to push the show forward. They were strong visually, tied with the Cavaliers is m&m/visual. But GE killed BD who finished a full 1 point behind Cavaliers in GE.  

Edited August 9, 2020 by jwillis35

[jwillis35]

A few general thoughts on 2001:

There was a wide gap in scores among the top 6, ranging from 91.9 up to 98.35. I am sure there were other years like this, but safe to say that it was not the most competitive top 5 or 6 we've seen.

To me this was one of the weaker years for GE. Perhaps a lot of this was corps trying new things, and many of the shows featured interesting mashups of music choices that perhaps made it more difficult for visual designers to create a seamless flow.

Having said that, there are plenty of good moments in every show. 

Santa Clara Vanguard, to me, had one of the more interesting shows in 2001. I thought their use of John Adams "Short Ride..." was incredible. Their version of this was far better than what Cadets put on the field in 1991. "New Era Dance" was also fantastic. I actually would not mind seeing SCV take another stab at this rep down the road. The minimalist approach to music and visual with all the bells and whistles corps use today might be neat to see. SCV sported strong brass line in 2001 with a 2nd place finish. They finished 5th in percussion (usually a strong point for them) and 5th in m&m/visual. Those captions held them back, especially m&m/visual where they were 1.5 behind Cavaliers. 

The Glassmen really came out prepared from the onset of the season, just like they had done in 1998 and 1999. Their repertoire was also one of my favorites for the summer, but I wasn't sure they highlighted the phrases and musical moments in a way that would benefit overall GE. Some felt the show was boring, and in terms of how they highlighted musical moments I can see that. They were still a pleasure to watch. Excellent marching  and solid visual design helped them to 4th in that caption. Their percussion was outstanding and also took 4th at Finals. Even their brass score was solid, .7 over Phantom for a 5th place finish. GE is what held them back.

Phantom Regiment played great rep, but some questioned the order they used. Perhaps "Festive Overture" would have been better for the show intro, but they may have decided against that due to SCV opening with Festive Overture in 1985 in such a grand way. I actually still love this show and I even liked the new uniforms they were sporting. I have heard some of the stories of how they did not have many brass show up for auditions and that money was a real issue. Despite that I feel Michael Klesch put together a fantastic music book for them. It may not be classic Phantom when you think of shows like 1979, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1992-93, or 1996 (and all the others) but it is a unique look and feel for a corps that was likely trying to break free of older styles and looks at that time.