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DCI Celebration - Akron: August 9th


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Spirit of Atlanta from Akron

These photos may take a moment to load. They are courtesy of a friend of mine, Nicole Scafidi. She was up in the 2nd deck. My seats for the show were 1st deck near the 50 but about mid way up. 

Edited by jwillis35
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1 hour ago, Boss Anova said:

A lot of the Corps below the top 6, typically have younger marchers in their ranks, than the TOP 6. Its been this way for decades, really.  When Madison Scouts were in the TOP  6 most seasons, they tended to have more mature, experienced marchers in their ranks than say Carolina Crown or Boston, Bluecoats, etc. Now Madison Scouts tend to fill their ranks with far more younger aged, or  relatively new marchers in their ranks than the TOP 5 or 6.  Phantom Regiment looks young to me these days now too. Boston for years was chock full of H.S. marchers in their ranks.  Same with Crown in their early building years.  Cavaliers were almost always filled with the college age, as they were typically in the TOP 6. When Cadets were winning titles, they had a few H.S. kids in their ranks, but  by and large, the Cadets were filled with the college aged, and were much more mature and experienced in Drum Corps than what Cadets are in age and experience this season.  BD usually has huge turnover in their ranks each and every season, but they just reload with other Corps younger marchers at ( for example, Mandarins, Academy,  Pacific Crest, etc ) and thats because of the pecking order in DCI and BD ( and SCV ) are pretty much always in the TOP 6. Corps with  lots of H.S. kids in their ranks though can be highly talented and entertaining. Academy was in " Drum Corps Bride " show, Music City with " Casey Jones tribute " show ", Cadets and Phantom Regiment this season and the like too. I really enjoyed both the Cadets and Phantom Regiment's shows this season, despite the overall younger age of their marchers than the current TOP 6 corps.

 

Cadets are usually top six and that’s the plan moving forward- the days of mediocrity are over - they have an aggressive off season recruitment plan in place 

Get invited to one of these audition events by submitting a pre-screening video

November 19-21
Salem, NJ | All Sections

December 17-19
Salem, NJ | Brass & Percussion

November 28
Tampa, FL | All Sections

April 29-May 1
Location TBD | Color Guard

December 5
Leander, TX | All Sections

Edited by George Dixon
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11 hours ago, Boss Anova said:

It was . But they still have a fabulous show that is highly entertaining and they appear to me to have a very young corps in their ranks . They pulled off this tradition based show with the iconic cadets songs from the past very , VERY well this summer . Loved  seeing them return  to their iconic uniform and corps colors this season and hope to see them again in them  next season . 

It's a good thing that THIS year is a young corps. If history is a guide, and judging by my own experience, it is possible they're going to be even better next year. 

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I had a few additional observations from the show (mostly positive reactions):

I know I mentioned that the Cadets guard had a rougher run than normal, but one of the neat things to see was how well these performers react and recover. One of the missed rifle (or sabre) tosses by the Cadets in Moondance saw the young man smile and sell it anyway as he looked over at another guard member with a wonderful sense of "I can't believe that happened" yet his enthusiasm and ability to recover and perform was an indication of how well they are taught to perform. It was great. Yes they are human, and yet all these performers in drum corps do such an amazing job of selling what they do and moving on. And by the way, when you see these shows LIVE you really see more of the positives. It's easy on Flo or YT to watch and be critical and see and hear the mistakes, but LIVE I find myself seeing more of the positives. It was moments like the one mentioned above that really captivated me last night. 

The interaction of the performers is really captivating. Watching the Bluecoats soloists interact with each other and some of the small ensembles grouped around them was a joy. Their entire show is built on timing, interactions of the performers, and a lot of showmanship. I found myself humming the last half of that show for nearly the whole ride home in addition to Far and Away from the Cadets closer. 

Boston's rifle work is truly world class. The physical nature of their work along with the excellent use of flags, which is so obvious when you see them live, makes you realize why they have won high guard trophies. Throw in the top-tier brass and percussion and it's clear they should be a force next year in competition. 

It's amazing what seeing a live show does for your perspective on drill, staging, music balances, and understanding the demands on the performers. Not having seen a show in over a year I think last night was a reminder that LIVE drum and bugle corps is still one of the more fantastic things you can take in. Yes, you notice  mistakes, but you really notice the positives on a larger scale. You see the interactions, the facial expressions (if you're not too far away from the field), and you see the great effort. The balances of brass, percussion, and pit (and solos) are far better live than what we get through streaming. Yes, synth bass is still quite present with all the shows. It's like a low-pitched humming drone present throughout much of the shows, but I get that the designers and audio guys have a different view on this. It's probably what they want. But in general I didn't find anything that really annoyed me and found more things that thrilled me. That's the advantage of LIVE. Not sure if I'll make it out to Indy. So many variables there. But last night in Akron we were treated to a fantastic lineup filled with amazing performances and the fans went crazy for everyone. 

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2 hours ago, George Dixon said:

I do not know the exact age break down, but quite a few of the members appear HS aged...

I also didn't realize it rained?

This was 6 PM last night. 

 

 https://photos.app.goo.gl/28NyTW9mUWToAdCM6

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1 hour ago, 2000Cadet said:

It's a good thing that THIS year is a young corps. If history is a guide, and judging by my own experience, it is possible they're going to be even better next year. 

I have little doubt that Cadets are on an upward trajectory 

Edited by Jurassic Lancer
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56 minutes ago, jwillis35 said:

There aren't words to say how good that uniform looks out there.

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