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The 2003 Thread


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The Cavaliers were trying for an unprecedented four-peat, but were overtaken late in the season by the Blue Devils and 'Phenomenon of Cool.' Cavaliers' esoteric 'Spin Cycle' placed second. Hot on their heels was a tribute band, the Cadets, weaving 'My Favorite Things' through a collection of drum corps classics, including their own 'Rocky Point Holiday.' 

Phantom Regiment was the corps to talk about in 2003. They really made a big step forward with 'Harmonic Journey,' wowing crowds across the nation and barely beating out a talented but perhaps outwritten Santa Clara Vanguard at finals. 

In the next block were Boston Crusaders with another classical collection, this time of Spanish music. The Bluecoats began a journey which would take them to the top 13 years later with a sophisticated show, 'Capture and Escape.' Madison Scouts returned to finals, to the delight of the fans. 

Crossmen continued their jazz collection programs united by a slapped-on theme with 'Color,' featuring awesome Chuck Naffier arrangements. Carolina Crown rang all the bells with 'Bell-isimo.' Magic of Orlando presented 'Silver Voices,' with some complex classical music. Rounding out the top twelve was Spirit from JSU with meditations on 'Time,' including time-related song titles and varied time signatures.

Just outside of finals were Blue Knights and Glassmen (out for the first time since 1993).

I was in Giants Stadium early season - never again. What a lousy place for drum corps. The Eastern crowd was not particularly receptive to the Cavaliers. Then Hornell, NY where I fell in love with Phantom all over again. (Remember when people used to write drum corps reviews?) Two nights of Allentown and wow, Blue Devils. 

Are the judges ready? DCP proudly presents...2003!

 

 

Edited by mfrontz
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2003, to me, was a good DCI year, if not really a great one.  Orlando for Finals was a terrible idea in retrospect, as attendance suffered.  Also for us fans, the audio/video quality wasn't great - lighting in the Citrus Bowl is just baaaad. 

Blue Devils had 1/3 of a great show.  The opener belongs in the DCI Hall of Fame as it's own member.  It's virtuosic, precise and absolutely channels the spirit of Brubeck while creating something new.  It's a shame the rest of the show couldn't match.  Concerto de Aranjuez just fell flat, and West Side Story was done to death even at that point.  Honestly, I'd have had them in second. Cavies' show had the legs.

Cavaliers, like I said, should have won.  Spin Cycle was by far the most complex visual package of that whole era, and they nailed it.  The music was more engaging than Frameworks by a county mile.

The Cadets decided to zag instead of zig again, and went with a lot of previously done material.  Honestly, I *like* their version of Malaguena - the battery parts managed to hit the rare intersection of Appropriately Complex and Fun to Play.  (Trust me, that's not a common thing in DCI.)  Rocky Point was much abbreviated from the classic version, but still felt like "classic" Cadets. And for the record, the FJM jackets were fine.  It's just frogging.  

Phantom Regiment kept climbing for a title, one spot per year. Their 2003 show is legendary for <gasp> including a reprise, but that moment - yeah.  (Note from my OCD: the title of the music in the opener was Sanctus, not Pachibel's Canon, BTW.  From a choir group named Libera.)  Paul Rennick made his presence known immediately, as the whole percussion section blew everyone away all summer.  I'll listen to this one anywhere, anytime - you don't need the video.  Which... might be why they didn't score even higher...

(personal note.  Thanks to Chris Maher at DCXMuseum.org, I got to hear Phantom's encore from the track in front of them. They played both Sanctus and Amazing Grace.  It's an achievement on my DCI bucket list.)

Santa Clara's Pathways show is one of my all time favorite programs for them.  It has one of the most amazing battery books I've ever seen / heard in it's absolute spot-on mapping between drums and brass.  Seriously - you can pick out exact brass parts based on what the battery's doing. So coooool.  This was the first corps to use Orawa for Orchestra, and they weave it through the entire show to give it a very driving feel.  And the opening minutes are to die for - the brass starts split on each end zone, trading melodies.  How long did it take them to refine *that* part?!?  Overall, this one's on my SCV Mount Rushmore.  

Boston did a sequel to 2000's Red, and it was ... ok.  The corps was probably a little better than the 2000 version, but the show wasn't as catchy.  That said, it's a *good* show, and has some great moments (ballad is awesome, and the 15 snares in Malaguena are fun!).  Maybe just not an all-world program.

Bluecoats had, in retrospect, what felt like a transition year between their more old-school approach and a more sophisticated "big corps" feel.  It's hard to put a finger on.  They played catchy stuff and visually were more interesting than normal, but they didnt feel like challengers to Boston quite yet.  Worth revisiting by Bluecoats fans, but probably not for everyone.

Madison's new leadership nailed their initial production.  My kids literally played a don't-call-it-ripoff show of this last year in band.  The unfortunate part was that everyone was still mad about Scott Stewart and the new uniforms that they couldn't really appreciate what the corps was doing out there.  They had a tremendous drill program, and they showed they could "play the game" while still adding so many signature Madison Moments.  I do still pull this one out to watch every once in a while.

Crossmen put on a very Crossmen show.  If you like very Crossmen shows, you'll like this one.  They didn't push the envelope, but you'd leave humming the tunes.  I have to keep defending that I *do* like the Crossmen, but this one didn't really raise my blood pressure any.

Crown also reinvented themselves in look and sound, and came closer to the more modern Crown we all know and love.  They definitely doubled down on the "bell" gimmick.  Worth watching if you want to see the evolution of the group.  

Magic of Orlando's real last hurrah came in 2003.  It was definiely a more complex show than the 2002 version, but maybe not as interesting.  The bits from Bernstein's Mass were fun.  

Finally, Spirit made 12th with a more jazz-inspired show that honestly, I didn't like as much as the symphonic stuff the year before.  Joke's on me, I guess - they made Finals with this one.

Honorable mention - BK was soooo close, with a great music book.  Glassmen kept bouncing in and out of the top 12, and Seattle started a slow decline. Honestly, there were a lot of corps that felt like they were on the downswing - Colts, Kiwanis, Southwind, Troopers, Pioneer.  Coming up were Pacific Crest, Mandarins, Capital Regiment.  

Next year in 2004 - Cavaliers wonder what would happen if they adapted their visual program to Cool Music, BD experimented with jazz-but-not-really, SCV caught lightning in a bottle ... and there were also singers and twirlers and amplification.  You know, normal stuff.

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Spin Cycle is my second-favorite original music show for listening, albeit a distant second, after Florida Suite.

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1 hour ago, MikeN said:

2003, to me, was a good DCI year, if not really a great one.  Orlando for Finals was a terrible idea in retrospect, as attendance suffered.  Also for us fans, the audio/video quality wasn't great - lighting in the Citrus Bowl is just baaaad. 

Blue Devils had 1/3 of a great show.  The opener belongs in the DCI Hall of Fame as it's own member.  It's virtuosic, precise and absolutely channels the spirit of Brubeck while creating something new.  It's a shame the rest of the show couldn't match.  Concerto de Aranjuez just fell flat, and West Side Story was done to death even at that point.  Honestly, I'd have had them in second. Cavies' show had the legs.

Cavaliers, like I said, should have won.  Spin Cycle was by far the most complex visual package of that whole era, and they nailed it.  The music was more engaging than Frameworks by a county mile.

The Cadets decided to zag instead of zig again, and went with a lot of previously done material.  Honestly, I *like* their version of Malaguena - the battery parts managed to hit the rare intersection of Appropriately Complex and Fun to Play.  (Trust me, that's not a common thing in DCI.)  Rocky Point was much abbreviated from the classic version, but still felt like "classic" Cadets. And for the record, the FJM jackets were fine.  It's just frogging.  

Phantom Regiment kept climbing for a title, one spot per year. Their 2003 show is legendary for <gasp> including a reprise, but that moment - yeah.  (Note from my OCD: the title of the music in the opener was Sanctus, not Pachibel's Canon, BTW.  From a choir group named Libera.)  Paul Rennick made his presence known immediately, as the whole percussion section blew everyone away all summer.  I'll listen to this one anywhere, anytime - you don't need the video.  Which... might be why they didn't score even higher...

(personal note.  Thanks to Chris Maher at DCXMuseum.org, I got to hear Phantom's encore from the track in front of them. They played both Sanctus and Amazing Grace.  It's an achievement on my DCI bucket list.)

Santa Clara's Pathways show is one of my all time favorite programs for them.  It has one of the most amazing battery books I've ever seen / heard in it's absolute spot-on mapping between drums and brass.  Seriously - you can pick out exact brass parts based on what the battery's doing. So coooool.  This was the first corps to use Orawa for Orchestra, and they weave it through the entire show to give it a very driving feel.  And the opening minutes are to die for - the brass starts split on each end zone, trading melodies.  How long did it take them to refine *that* part?!?  Overall, this one's on my SCV Mount Rushmore.  

Boston did a sequel to 2000's Red, and it was ... ok.  The corps was probably a little better than the 2000 version, but the show wasn't as catchy.  That said, it's a *good* show, and has some great moments (ballad is awesome, and the 15 snares in Malaguena are fun!).  Maybe just not an all-world program.

Bluecoats had, in retrospect, what felt like a transition year between their more old-school approach and a more sophisticated "big corps" feel.  It's hard to put a finger on.  They played catchy stuff and visually were more interesting than normal, but they didnt feel like challengers to Boston quite yet.  Worth revisiting by Bluecoats fans, but probably not for everyone.

Madison's new leadership nailed their initial production.  My kids literally played a don't-call-it-ripoff show of this last year in band.  The unfortunate part was that everyone was still mad about Scott Stewart and the new uniforms that they couldn't really appreciate what the corps was doing out there.  They had a tremendous drill program, and they showed they could "play the game" while still adding so many signature Madison Moments.  I do still pull this one out to watch every once in a while.

Crossmen put on a very Crossmen show.  If you like very Crossmen shows, you'll like this one.  They didn't push the envelope, but you'd leave humming the tunes.  I have to keep defending that I *do* like the Crossmen, but this one didn't really raise my blood pressure any.

Crown also reinvented themselves in look and sound, and came closer to the more modern Crown we all know and love.  They definitely doubled down on the "bell" gimmick.  Worth watching if you want to see the evolution of the group.  

Magic of Orlando's real last hurrah came in 2003.  It was definiely a more complex show than the 2002 version, but maybe not as interesting.  The bits from Bernstein's Mass were fun.  

Finally, Spirit made 12th with a more jazz-inspired show that honestly, I didn't like as much as the symphonic stuff the year before.  Joke's on me, I guess - they made Finals with this one.

Honorable mention - BK was soooo close, with a great music book.  Glassmen kept bouncing in and out of the top 12, and Seattle started a slow decline. Honestly, there were a lot of corps that felt like they were on the downswing - Colts, Kiwanis, Southwind, Troopers, Pioneer.  Coming up were Pacific Crest, Mandarins, Capital Regiment.  

Next year in 2004 - Cavaliers wonder what would happen if they adapted their visual program to Cool Music, BD experimented with jazz-but-not-really, SCV caught lightning in a bottle ... and there were also singers and twirlers and amplification.  You know, normal stuff.

Cavies put the tag on that show in San Antonio, the one we all saw at finals and for some reason it didnt click with the judges...i dont get it either. Spirit had to claw their way to that finals spot...14th after quarters, i think. 

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Shouts to Spirit for having a moderately tear-jerking ballad (with the flags for Zingali, Royer, the Bridgemen, etc., topped off with Ott at the end).

This was the year of Cadets that I showed in my Finals-quest from a few weeks ago (mostly because I couldn't find videos for '96 or '01, but still).

Also, in case anyone else is in the mood for what one person on Reddit described at their favorite Cadets show of all time:

 

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3 hours ago, MikeN said:

The Cadets decided to zag instead of zig again, and went with a lot of previously done material.  Honestly, I *like* their version of Malaguena - the battery parts managed to hit the rare intersection of Appropriately Complex and Fun to Play.  (Trust me, that's not a common thing in DCI.)  Rocky Point was much abbreviated from the classic version, but still felt like "classic" Cadets. And for the record, the FJM jackets were fine.  It's just frogging.  

I liked Cadets in 2003.  I thought they had some interesting drill moments and the opening "show" before the show was different.  I also loved the Z-pull at the end of the show. 

However I thought Rocky Point Holiday was kind of flat.  

 

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5 hours ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Spin Cycle is my second-favorite original music show for listening, albeit a distant second, after Florida Suite.

Spin Cycle is one of my favorite Cavaliers shows.  The visuals are just so nice.

At the 2:25 mark there is a move in the opener where a circle spins from right to left through a block and as the circle hits the next row in the block, it disintegrates, passes through the circle and forms on the other side.

Every time I watch it I think how do you come up something like that AND then how do you teach it. 

 

Edited by Continental
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