Saturday, July 30th .. 4:55 PM “DCI Southeastern Championship” …Center Parc Credit Union Stadium … Atlanta, GEORGIA

[IllianaLancerContra]

Just now, craiga said:

Also,  the Bridgemen of Bayonne, NJ several years before Star. 

Yes - but their circus was primarily just the 'Thunder & Blazes' opener.  Star took the idea a lot farther (perhaps too far).

[Jeff Ream]

2 hours ago, MikeRapp said:

To be clear, what I am suggesting is that DCI still does not know how they define GE. When four judges, two weeks from finals, separate into two clear groups, and their scores are over half a point apart—that’s bad. And I don’t think that’s really arguable.

but it is. they are not all looking at the exact same thing at the exact same second as a show progresses.  some may have more guard background than drill. more brass than percussion. the sheet gives judges latitude to examine the show, and have criteria, that can allow the judge to go where they feel they need to be. and with using Competition Suite, the caption heads can go in and listen to any judges recordings within minutes of them being uploaded, and they do

[Jeff Ream]

2 hours ago, MikeRapp said:

That’s not the point though.

Based on last night’s GE scores, what should Bluecoats do to change the show? No clue. Clearly four judges judged GE by two very different criteria. At a regional, two weeks from finals, that really should not happen.

yes, it can and should. 

[27Socal]

13 hours ago, skevinp said:

Do you have a comprehensive, objective and fact-based analysis on which to base this claim?  

If so, I’m sure we would all like to see it.  If not, I would suggest you may be the one placing emotion over logic.

 

Sure,  I've done it a number of times.  I explained the fact based analysis in a previous reply.  It's not emotion, it's based on data (numbers).  Usually comes out pretty close to the final scores.  If you want to see it,  have fun and do it yourself.

[KVG_DC]

26 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

1987 Star of Indiana literally had circus acts.

 

Then Blue Stars gave us a Side Show.
 

 

[Boss Anova]

2 hours ago, Ediker said:

Caught SCV’s new ending during the rebroadcast. Gorgeous

 I think so too. There is a plethora of styles on display in DCI this season, imo. I'm glad I'm not a judge. I like the SCV Show. I think I know where it might fall a little short compared to corps above them this season, but nevertheless, I enjoy the subtle sophistication of this SCV show design this season, and the quiet, contemplative visual ending fits well their chosen theme, imo.

[lawdn]

On a light note, I started thinking DCP needs to start up a peer-reviewed journal to disseminate empirical presentations analyzing show design, performance, and scoring, but then concluded if the peer reviewers were other DCP members, nothing would ever be cleared for publication. 🤷‍♂️ 

[lanceengland]

Next day thoughts after attending in person:

• Concession line were ~ 100 people long all night 😞
• Yay, the weather held out and we got the whole show in! 
• BAC drum line, hands-down best of the night.
• Great shows from all the corps, really. Blue Stars was the best I've ever seen them. BAC also the best show I've ever seen them do
• So many great horn lines, it is insane.
• With enough polish BAC could win, but BD cleans up better than anyone, so who knows. We all win because the kids and staff are pouring their hearts into this amazing activity

[skevinp]

37 minutes ago, 27Socal said:

Sure,  I've done it a number of times.  I explained the fact based analysis in a previous reply.  It's not emotion, it's based on data (numbers).  Usually comes out pretty close to the final scores.  If you want to see it,  have fun and do it yourself.

Uh huh

[Cappybara]

 

Okay I promised a review from both myself and my partner (her first drum corps show!), so here it is. I wanted to get her genuine first reactions to every show and corps so I made sure to not bias her with my own biases; I gave her small synopses on each show concept and the general structure of shows (opener, ballad, closer, etc). I think my favorite question of the night from her was “how do you know when to clap?” 

 

First, apologies to all the corps that performed prior to Phantom Regiment as we mistimed our plans prior to the show and got there late due to how absurdly difficult it was to get an Uber yesterday (Luke Combs, Kendrick Lamar, and one other artist all had concerts in Atlanta yesterday)

 

First, a small review of the venue, it was fantastic. Apart from some long concessions lines, it was a very well run stadium with quick lines to get inside and very comfortable seating. We were in section 319 right around the 40-45 yard line. We had a canopy above us which seemed to trap and enhance the sound of the corps really well

 

Phantom Regiment: This show has been one of my favorites based on what I’ve been hearing on Flo. The hornline did not disappoint with a huge sound and beautiful music. My partner liked the show as well, her main criticism was that the tables were distracting and not well used (I thought it was astute of her to notice that). She would’ve liked to see them painted a bit differently on all sides so that they looked cleaned and wished they weren’t squiggly. We both loved the closer with what I’m hoping will eventually turn into a moment for a wedge or chevron 

 

Cavies: To me, this show translates better live than on Flo. I was surprised by the power from the hornline (though I did feel like they were a step down from phantom). My partner loved the energy from the guard in this show as well as all the colors and thought the prop in the back was cool. She liked this show a bit better than Phantom 

 

Mandarins: We both really liked the first half of this show. Hornline has some fantastic power. Both of us agreed the singing was just not balanced well at all with the rest of the corps and she overall wasn’t a fan of the singing, something we both had in common. It was her least favorite of the night 

 

Blue Stars: Props galore! The show looks a bit messy on Flo but it doesn’t seem that way live. My partner loved the guard uniforms and the copious use of color throughout the show. They sounded quieter but more refined than the Mandarins. They have an extremely ambitious colorguard book as usual and I unfortunately saw quite a few drops last night, not the best night for them. Neither of us necessarily understood how the concept translates to the field but we both liked the show a lot overall! 

 

SCV: First show of the night where my partner audibly gasped when she heard the hornline. She was a big fan of the front ensembles in general all night, especially the marimbas and thought SCV’s marimba section was particularly good. She has good taste. We both thought the tag ending was brilliant. This is another show that translates significantly better in person than on Flo, but I will say they had one of the dullest visual programs of the night unfortunately. One other major negative to note, when SCV moves their props to the center in the tag ending, those props are LOUD. We could hear them rattling and it really ruined the final moments of the show. Hope they find a way to fix it, either by having the hornline play to cover it up or have the pit play a bit louder, or just solidify the props a bit. 

 

Bluecoats: My partner’s second favorite show of the night. I let my own bias get in the way a little bit as I warned her in advance that there will be a voice telling the story. What I found out was that when watching the show live, I had the opposite issue of what I’ve been having on Flo. Instead of being too prominent, the narration wasn’t prominent enough. I could barely understand the narrator due to the poor sound balance and it was quite distracting because I could still hear the voice but couldn’t hear what he was saying. The use of electronics otherwise was by far the best of the night, the enhanced bass was well balanced and well used. The keytar section was AWESOME and both of our favorite moment of the night. She especially loved the things they did with the wheels. Overall, I loved this show a lot more than I did on Flo

 

Blue Devils: I did my very best to not give away my excitement to see BD live😂 they were as good as advertised, they look so professional and everything was SEAMLESS. One of the three corps (other two were Crown and Bloo) who received standing ovations! Their electronics balance was not as good as Bloo’s but much better than they are on Flo. Everyone in my section was audibly gasping when they saw BD’s CLEAN rotating line. My partner said she was mesmerized from start to finish and astutely noted that she did not notice BD move their props around at all compared to all the other corps. Was very proud of her for noticing that! This was her favorite show of the night. I noticed some intonation issues with the mellos in the higher registers last night which is why I was not surprised to see them not take 1st in brass. The moon River soloists were fantastic and it sounds like they are really gelling now. Side note, while BD often gets criticized for some of their obscure musical choices, this was the only show of the night where my partner recognized multiple musical pieces in the show. The crowd in general was very engaged throughout

 

 

Carolina Crown: I think most people know I haven’t been a huge fan of the show design. Did seeing it live change my mind? In some ways yes, in other ways no. First let’s start with the app. I chose to try the app for just the pre-show as I wanted to just focus on drum corps after. It was.. fine? It didn’t really enhance the experience but didn’t detract. Is it gimmicky? Yes. Did I see a lot of young teens and children enjoying it? Absolutely. I will say, I had a few crown families sitting in front of me and it was very distracting seeing their bright screens flashing throughout the show (they were holding their phones up to their ears to hear something). Most people didnt seem to bother with it, atleast from what I saw in the 300 level that I was in during the pre show. The hornline was fantastic, they sounded exactly like Crown. While my partner really loved all the colorful  fabrics being used, I did still find it messy even on a live read. I will say, the big tarp during Benedictus is GORGEOUS live. Everyone was gave an “oooh” when they saw it. It’s eye candy, but the fabric work happening on the other side of the field felt quite pointless. They got a standing ovation a couple times through the show, well deserved, theyre performing the crap out of the show. My partner had this show as her 3rd favorite of the night. I found myself really enjoying everything from benedictus and beyond, but still really am not a fan of the first half of the show

 

Boston:  I personally have been a huge fan of this show on Flo but I felt like the show was a bit flat live. They seemed to have a hot run based off of the scores so maybe it was just me. Their hornline is AMAZING. This is my first time seeing them live since they acquired crown’s staff and wow, I was very impressed by the hornline. The colorguard book is mind blowing, just toss after toss, it was ridiculously good. This was probably the only show of the night where I was like “they’re still going?” And I haven’t been able to pinpoint why I felt that way. My partner liked the show but personally enjoyed BD, Bloo, and Crown a lot more. When I asked her why, she felt like those shows had more color and more “wow” moments. This Boston corps is extremely talented and very deserving of their scores, both of us just didn’t entirely enjoy this run. 

 

It was an overall great night of drum corps and I mostly just happy that I got to introduce someone who I love to drum corps for the first time. Congrats to all of the corps and I’m hoping I can see them again in Indy