Popular Post wvu80 Posted August 13, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted August 13, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, skevinp said: To me, this was the most entertaining top 6 in the 28 years I’ve been watching. (respectful Snip!, just wanted to comment on...) My favorite Cadets show since 2011 This was my favorite as well. The Angels and Demons show was such a masterpiece. I've worn out the disc in my Blu-ray player with the number of times I've watched this show. I've put together a Home Theater with a purpose built speaker system so I can play drum corps shows and have it sound like you were there. My configuration had been up to 9 speakers this season but for Finals weekend I went with 7.4. That means 5 base speakers L/C/R, and a change from Klipsch with 6" woofers to LARGE side surrounds w/15" woofers and Front Height with 10" woofers. Everything is horn driven, meaning it takes horns to play horns. To calibrate this system to my ears and not to the standard room corrections software, I used Cadets 2011 show as my reference standard. I wanted to hear the dynamics, the CRACK of the snare line and even the subtleties of the pit. I wanted to hear the timbre (pronounced TAMber, as in tambourine) of each horn section and it had to be able to play LOUD without distortion. This setup gets pretty close to distortion-free drum corps level LOUD. I'm sure I've played the drum solo over a hundred times to fine-tune the sound to what I know it sounds like live! Back to the story: Cadets had my favorite show this season for a variety of reasons, all good. Nostalgia is first as I've loved Cadets shows ever since they burst onto the top of the heap in 1982. I can't stand the preachiness of Cadets shows from the last 12 years. "We can all do better." Yuck. Enter Cadets 2023. Great drill, source material that I enjoyed and corps arrangements very true to the originals. Drill was exciting where it needed to be, they had the best ballad of the year which included a gorgeous cornet solo which included a second cornet for a perfectly played duet. Then towards the end of the season, Cadets added narration which I thought was cringe. But you know what? As they neared finals they changed some of the phrases and timing to where it wasn't bad. In particular they changed a part which ruined the ballad talking over the playing "we are Atlas" (cringe) to a similar phrase just BEFORE the ballad, "we are immortal." Not bad. The solo was from a British Brass Band piece called "Immortal." The narration at that point in the show was timely and appropriate. When Cadets showed the openness to change (which I never thought they would) this entire production became my favorite show of the year. Thank you Cadets for a great show which improved every time I saw it. Aside from playing the notes on the field, Cadets taught me this year that sometimes to make things better, you have to let go of parts the past while returning to the parts of the past which worked, both on the field and in life. Thank you for bringing me back as a fan. My humble system: Edited August 13, 2023 by wvu80 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dragons Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 11 hours ago, c.l. said: It’s too Western Carolina University for me in a drum corps show, but it’s also kinda cool. Conflicted. 7 hours ago, TenHut said: It's a competition that is scored, it's obviously about winning. The only ones that say it isn't about winning are those that finish 2nd through 12th. Nah, if that were the case there'd be no reason for Jersey Surf to march. It's fair to say it's not ALL about winning but if you can, you want to. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Red Dragons Posted August 13, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted August 13, 2023 9 hours ago, Den8uml said: Honestly, the subjectivity is so frustrating this may be my last time caring about scores after marching, volunteering and now supporting/donating. How can scores/ placement especially content change so dramatically night to night. Answer: they can’t except by judges who are not consistent and not fair and are definitely biased, baring dramatic changes or failures. I’m not talking Devils, no one cares about their scores, they are amazing and untouchable. I need to focus on something less fake but still enjoyable and rewarding. If the judges all say the same thing it's rigged. If they don't, it's biased. It's a dam wonder anybody wants that job. 7 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vuitton Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, jaylogan said: Was that from the Mandarins kerfuffle I luckily managed to miss? No. Grandpa attacked me on the prelims thread and I attacked back. Then a Mod spanked us, deservedly so. I apologized (I mean I was wrong for how I responded to Gramps) and he chose instead to mouth off to the Mod. I'm ALWAYS going to make mistakes on here because of my big mouth, but I will always apologize when I'm wrong. I am really loving it here and enjoying all of you. I only want to make friends. But, I still have a problem with my mouth. Edited August 13, 2023 by Vuitton 4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vuitton Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 9 hours ago, saxfreq1128 said: If silver and bronze are just “participation trophies” then boy have I got some bad news for hundreds of Olympians … Exactly. When we got 7th place in '89 I thought it was the worst thing ever. Boy was a I fool. I was looking at it as all our rivals beat us rather than what we actually accomplished. Making top 4 today is an enormous feat. The all deserve medals IMO. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vuitton Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 9 hours ago, spacewill said: @Chief Guns @MandarinMom so happy for yalls kids! 6th is phenominal and yall have something great to build on for next year. Now say your 1000 Hail Marys and 200 Our Fathers and enjoy the off season!!! I echo this. What an amazing accomplishment. After what, three years in a row in 10th, the dividends have finally paid off. So happy for Mandarins. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruckner8 Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 4 hours ago, bluesman said: I'm trying to understand how Cavies beat Colts and Troopers in brass. Cuz the brass judge had the easiest job of the evening. All he had to do was understand all if the following: 1) Crown was going to win brass, no matter what 2) BD was going to win the championship, no matter what, no harm in putting them second 3) everyone else may as well be in their performance slot easy peasy. No drama. Bloo had to be third cuz of 1) and 2) though. 1 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vuitton Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 5 hours ago, skevinp said: To me, this was the most entertaining top 6 in the 28 years I’ve been watching. My favorite Blue Devils show since 2000 My favorite Bluecoats show since 2016 My favorite Crown show since 2016 My favorite Boston show ever My favorite Cadets show since 2011 My favorite Mandarins show ever Change BD to 1998 and you and are on the same page with all others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skevinp Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 8 hours ago, TenHut said: It's a competition that is scored, it's obviously about winning. The only ones that say it isn't about winning are those that finish 2nd through 12th. Good luck with that, Ahab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted August 13, 2023 Share Posted August 13, 2023 5 hours ago, skevinp said: To me, this was the most entertaining top 6 in the 28 years I’ve been watching. My favorite Blue Devils show since 2000 My favorite Bluecoats show since 2016 My favorite Crown show since 2016 My favorite Boston show ever My favorite Cadets show since 2011 My favorite Mandarins show ever For me, this was the strongest year of drum corps overall since 2014 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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