craiga Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 12 minutes ago, Algernon said: I'm getting 2016 vibes here.... "to dream, the impossible dream..." Good memory, Algernon. In 2016, BAC gained 2 full points on the entire field and jumped two spots in the final 2 days of the season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barneveld Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 10 hours ago, Chief Guns said: I am with you on this. If Spartans beat Madison in Prelims, you wanna go half with me on an Abrams Tank and ballistic shield, and venture over to the Madison thread LMAO. @Chief Guns You'll be in Indy. No need to venture over to the Madison thread. Just hang out in the lobby of the Madison supporters hotel! 😉 You'll be able to spend enough time there and still get back to Lucas Oil in time to see the Mandarins. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRapp Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 40 minutes ago, craiga said: While I'm sure it is a minority opinion around here, I remain convinced that the Boston Crusaders will win on finals night. I'm no fair weather fan. I have been involved with them more than 40 years. BAC has survived far worse both on and off the field, and is more than capable of overcoming what amounts to less than a .2 deficit per caption. To any members reading this, have a tremendous two weeks and enjoy the love you're getting from fans everywhere ! BD will win by a full point. It’s just how DCI scoring works over an entire season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cainan Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 (edited) OK... LONG POST ALERT I made a wild prediction before the first show, but now we are a few weeks in, I will revise said prediction and why.... 1. Blue Devils Haters can hate all they want but anyone with even the smallest knowledge of this activity would have to agree that this is simply the best design by some considerable margin. Is it the hardest show out there? No. What it IS though is the SMARTEST design. The staff knows how to design to their membership and they are absolute scientists when it comes to scheduling and logistics of touring and time management. They push the corps just hard enough. As for the show design itself, it is just hard enough and in all the right places to maximize exposure across the board. The show grabs you from the off and never lets go. Chip Crotts must be spoken of in the same breath as names like Cipriani, Harloff and JD Shaw as an absolutely elite caption head. He has elevated that line to a different level. I'm not sure that this is the best Blue Devils corps ever (it may yet prove to be) but this is by FAR the best SOUNDING version of Devs by a wide margin. 2. Boston Crusaders Truth be told, I did not like this show early on but it's very quickly growing on me. The members have obviously totally bought into the concept and are performing the guts out of it. All sections are clean and competitively from a caption perspective, there's not much in it between them and Devs. The difference in my opinion is down to design. White Whale is a cool concept and Boston is the PERFECT corps to present this show... It is my opinion that the thing that will hold this show back is the fact that the show is pretty difficult to read for the first half and the transitions between movements are a bit disjointed and clunky. 3. Carolina Crown This is the best version of CrownBrass since E=MC2... and we know how THAT went score-wise. Percussion vastly improved. Great Guard. Weakness (being a relative term) as I see it is visual design. Having watched Atlanta, there are still a lot of spacing and foot timing issues. These are hidden well by the black lower halves, but those same black lower halves dont help with visual readability from upstairs. 4. Bluecoats I went to the garden of what the hell is this show actually about? Performed great but I am sure I have seen this version of Bloo in 2022.. and 2021, and 2019... And here we go.... 5. Mandarins Sinnerman has been an absolute revelation. I know that a lot of people seem to think that Mandarins are simply benefitting from the demise of Vanguard. They'd be quite wrong... In fact, the vast majority of Vanguard diaspora went to Phantom. Anyone that has been paying attention for the last few years should have noticed that JW Koester and his team have been laying down the foundations organizationally for Mandarins to be a powerhouse and the first phase of that was simply making finals. Welcome to phase two. This corps is absolutely fearless and they are absolutely for real. 6. Phantom Regiment Exogenesis has been a fantastic vehicle to allow for the much needed change of direction for Phantom Regiment. If you'd have told me at the end of 2019 that Phantom would be here in 2023 I'd have told you you were nuts. That was a corps clearly following the same trajectory as the Madison Scouts right out of Saturday night. Kudos to the Phantom board for taking the brave steps needed to bring teh Regiment back to the top half of DCI where they rightfully belong. As for the show, I am not sure what else they can throw in to make this have more substance and this is starting to show in the recaps with execution scores outpacing content... which I think is what will ultimately land them (just) behind the Sacramento corps. That said, if 5/6 flip flopped or even tied, I would not be at all unhappy. 7. Cadets Atlas Rising is a great show. That said we are now two weeks away from finals and I am only JUST now starting to be able to get a read on this corps and what the show is about. I know Cadets have a history of late-season surges, but I just feel that the two corps above them will separate themselves over the next couple of weeks as all they need to do is clean whereas the Erie corps is still developing their show arc. 8. Cavaliers A fun throwback show. Great uniforms. Clunky design wise especially with musical transitions. Two weeks from finals though and we still do not know how to dress a simple file. foot timing was bad at Atlanta and it showed in the recaps having dropped behind Troopers. That said... when is the last time an eighth place corps at DCI finals won a Fred Sanford? Write this down in ink as this is GOING to happen this year. Their battery had some moments that even this old brass player marveled at. 9. Troopers They are lassoing that sun folks. Visual was the weakness early season but they are getting clean. That said... the Achilles heel of this corps is that Guard. They are working their arses off but that design may just be too much for them to handle. The problem is that design isn't particularly demanding. I have Troop in 9th here on the strength of GE, percussion and upstairs brass. While I feel they are a lock for finals, I reckon there's less than a point between 9th and 11th, and Troop could just as easily end up 11th as they do 9th. 10. Colts Nice show with a really really solid brass program. There are no real standout captions here for me as this corps is nicely balanced across the board. They move and play well and again, a lock for finals. 11. Blue Stars Great corps.. they perform the hell out of this show but there's just TOO MUCH of EVERYTHING here. I cannot figure out what this show is about other than if I drink Absinthe I will turn green and crazy Just don't get this one... looks to me like the design team wasted a golden opportunity here. AND HERE WE GO.... 12. Pacific Crest Goddess is just a really nice show and will make a well-deserved finalist. The theme is portrayed throughout the show and it's pretty easy to follow. My only criticism of this show is from a visual design standpoint as this show lacks the velocity we see from the other finalist corps. That last set takes forever to form as just one example. That said, I think Crest will get past this bit of a rough patch they have currently found themselves in to just squeak into Saturday night. Edited July 30, 2023 by Cainan 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA1970 Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 I believe the top 4 corps will not complete all together until prelims. Im talking the same night, Boston is not at Crown’s show tonight. Allentown is two days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barneveld Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 3 minutes ago, DFA1970 said: I believe the top 4 corps will not complete all together until prelims. Im talking the same night, Boston is not at Crown’s show tonight. Allentown is two days. Top 4 head to head this week Today - BD, BC, CC Tuesday - Devils(Annapolis) Crown(Salem) Wednesday - BC Thursday - BC, Boston Friday - Devils & Bluecoats Saturday - Crown & Boston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 (edited) 44 minutes ago, Cainan said: OK... LONG POST ALERT I made a wild prediction before the first show, but now we are a few weeks in, I will revise said prediction and why.... 1. Blue Devils Haters can hate all they want but anyone with even the smallest knowledge of this activity would have to agree that this is simply the best design by some considerable margin. Is it the hardest show out there? No. What it IS though is the SMARTEST design. The staff knows how to design to their membership and they are absolute scientists when it comes to scheduling and logistics of touring and time management. They push the corps just hard enough. As for the show design itself, it is just hard enough and in all the right places to maximize exposure across the board. The show grabs you from the off and never lets go. Chip Crotts must be spoken of in the same breath as names like Cipriani, Harloff and JD Shaw as an absolutely elite caption head. He has elevated that line to a different level. I'm not sure that this is the best Blue Devils corps ever (it may yet prove to be) but this is by FAR the best SOUNDING version of Devs by a wide margin. 2. Boston Crusaders Truth be told, I did not like this show early on but it's very quickly growing on me. The members have obviously totally bought into the concept and are performing the guts out of it. All sections are clean and competitively from a caption perspective, there's not much in it between them and Devs. The difference in my opinion is down to design. White Whale is a cool concept and Boston is the PERFECT corps to present this show... It is my opinion that the thing that will hold this show back is the fact that the show is pretty difficult to read for the first half and the transitions between movements are a bit disjointed and clunky. 3. Carolina Crown This is the best version of CrownBrass since E=MC2... and we know how THAT went score-wise. Percussion vastly improved. Great Guard. Weakness (being a relative term) as I see it is visual design. Having watched Atlanta, there are still a lot of spacing and foot timing issues. These are hidden well by the black lower halves, but those same black lower halves dont help with visual readability from upstairs. 4. Bluecoats I went to the garden of what the hell is this show actually about? Performed great but I am sure I have seen this version of Bloo in 2022.. and 2021, and 2019... And here we go.... 5. Mandarins Sinnerman has been an absolute revelation. I know that a lot of people seem to think that Mandarins are simply benefitting from the demise of Vanguard. They'd be quite wrong... In fact, the vast majority of Vanguard diaspora went to Phantom. Anyone that has been paying attention for the last few years should have noticed that JW Koester and his team have been laying down the foundations organizationally for Mandarins to be a powerhouse and the first phase of that was simply making finals. Welcome to phase two. This corps is absolutely fearless and they are absolutely for real. 6. Phantom Regiment Exogenesis has been a fantastic vehicle to allow for the much needed change of direction for Phantom Regiment. If you'd have told me at the end of 2019 that Phantom would be here in 2023 I'd have told you you were nuts. That was a corps clearly following the same trajectory as the Madison Scouts right out of Saturday night. Kudos to the Phantom board for taking the brave steps needed to bring teh Regiment back to the top half of DCI where they rightfully belong. As for the show, I am not sure what else they can throw in to make this have more substance and this is starting to show in the recaps with execution scores outpacing content... which I think is what will ultimately land them (just) behind the Sacramento corps. That said, if 5/6 flip flopped or even tied, I would not be at all unhappy. 7. Cadets Atlas Rising is a great show. That said we are now two weeks away from finals and I am only JUST now starting to be able to get a read on this corps and what the show is about. I know Cadets have a history of late-season surges, but I just feel that the two corps above them will separate themselves over the next couple of weeks as all they need to do is clean whereas the Erie corps is still developing their show arc. 8. Cavaliers A fun throwback show. Great uniforms. Clunky design wise especially with musical transitions. Two weeks from finals though and we still do not know how to dress a simple file. foot timing was bad at Atlanta and it showed in the recaps having dropped behind Troopers. That said... when is the last time an eighth place corps at DCI finals won a Fred Sanford? Write this down in ink as this is GOING to happen this year. Their battery had some moments that even this old brass player marveled at. 9. Troopers They are lassoing that sun folks. Visual was the weakness early season but they are getting clean. That said... the Achilles heel of this corps is that Guard. They are working their arses off but that design may just be too much for them to handle. The problem is that design isn't particularly demanding. I have Troop in 9th here on the strength of GE, percussion and upstairs brass. While I feel they are a lock for finals, I reckon there's less than a point between 9th and 11th, and Troop could just as easily end up 11th as they do 9th. 10. Colts Nice show with a really really solid brass program. There are no real standout captions here for me as this corps is nicely balanced across the board. They move and play well and again, a lock for finals. 11. Blue Stars Great corps.. they perform the hell out of this show but there's just TOO MUCH of EVERYTHING here. I cannot figure out what this show is about other than if I drink Absinthe I will turn green and crazy Just don't get this one... looks to me like the design team wasted a golden opportunity here. AND HERE WE GO.... 12. Pacific Crest Goddess is just a really nice show and will make a well-deserved finalist. The theme is portrayed throughout the show and it's pretty easy to follow. My only criticism of this show is from a visual design standpoint as this show lacks the velocity we see from the other finalist corps. That last set takes forever to form as just one example. That said, I think Crest will get past this bit of a rough patch they have currently found themselves in to just squeak into Saturday night. Enjoyed your comments. With so much attention to the corps at the upper echelon of the rankings this year, it occurs to me how weak the bottom of the finalist corps may be this year. Too bad we’ll be missing SCV at finals for the first time in DCI history. One less top finalist has opened the door for that 12th spot that ordinarily wouldn’t be there. Edited July 30, 2023 by drumcorpsfever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA1970 Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 20 minutes ago, Barneveld said: Top 4 head to head this week Today - BD, BC, CC Tuesday - Devils(Annapolis) Crown(Salem) Wednesday - BC Thursday - BC, Boston Friday - Devils & Bluecoats Saturday - Crown & Boston I’m referring to ALL on the same show, I know the schedule. But thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barneveld Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 1 minute ago, DFA1970 said: I’m referring to ALL on the same show, I know the schedule. But thanks, No need for the snark. Enjoy your day! 🙂 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFA1970 Posted July 30, 2023 Share Posted July 30, 2023 Just now, Barneveld said: No need for the snark. Enjoy your day! 🙂 No snark . You have the best day today, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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