Guardguy89 Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 Another month, another new Legacy DVD :) This time I bought 1988 - a special year for me - first year marching with the Cavaliers, and my first time making finals (after having competed at DCI every year since 1982!!!). Man was it hot that year. All I remember is sun, sun, sun and more sun. SKY RYDERS What happened to the guard between 1987 and 1988???? I was so used to seeing Sky with killer rifles lines, and great all-around colorguards that this show came as quite a shock. all flag for the whole show, and a real let-down from the 85-87 guard programs. The music from the Sound of Musice had some nice moments (especially the jazz version of My Favorite Things), but all in all this just isn't my kind of show - kudos for marking it in though, as most people had counted them out in '88 (I had alot of friends in Dutch Boy that year though, and really thought that they would make it in). BLUECOATS Its funny watching this show after all these years. The Bluecoats actually beat the Cavaliers earlier on that year (I think we were a really young corps that year). I really like the Take 5 part of the show (without the frilly sleeves though) and the rifle trick gone wrong part (you gotta see it to understand - rifles bouncing everywhere). Must have been hard to also play the same opener as the Blue Devils that year - That Old Black Magic. Bluecoats were also one of the first guards I saw using sabers on the field - I figured it wouldn't last since you couldn't really see sabers on a football field - shows you what I know SUNCOAST Wow - even after all these years, this show stands the test of time. What a concept. It was way, way, way ahead of its time. The soloist girl on the guard was fantastic (was she a guard member or was she recruited specifically for that part) It would be neat to here her take on touring with a drum corps if she had no previous experience. I can't go on enough about this show, the music charts alone are off the wall - with the blending of popular children's songs, and the whole show becoming more and more aggressive until the culmination in front of the Vietnam memorial wall (sucks that the right side inversed the panels though). Also, one of the all time best endings ever - that last chord with the girl running away from the huge ball - priceless!!!! How this show got 10th is beyond me. SPIRIT Whoah - Disco uniforms and a classical show - huh???? Yeah, yeah, I know they were doing Petruschka, and the puppet thing and everything, but after watching the 86 & 87 shows, Spirit 88 just doesn't work for me. I also remember that year thinking how much they looked like Connexion Quebec from 85/86. You can, however, see where guard was headed with this show. Rifle saber and flag lines on the field, great dancers and a very solid guard (as usual). Guard was Spirit's trademark back then - they were always just so different and fresh. The writing was unlike anything else on the field, and extremely musical without having to resort to the usual bag of tricks (loud note = flag toss) that everyone used back then. I will give them this - at least the corps tried something different that year (but to this day, I still miss Spirit 1986). VELVET KNIGHTS Hahahahahahahahaha-cough-hahahahahaha-coooooolllllll!!!!!!-hahahaha. That could be my whole review right there. They were such a breath of fresh air. Love the opener - and you can clearly see that one of the statues in front of the soprano players is "anatomically" accurate - how they passed that one is beyond me. Gotta love the bull peeing on the matador - and that guard was always under-rated if you ask me. don't just look at the antics - but look at the work they do and the body mouvement that goes with it - pretty cool. Best part of the show for me though has to be the guy playing the part of Uncle Sam - now thats a statement if I ever saw one - loved it!!!!!! STAR OF INDIANA Another corps that spent most of the season beating us that year. Now I see why. Great drill, nice show and what a horn line. This is another one of those shows that you can just listen to over and over again. Porgy and Bess was a beautiful selection for them. And I might be in the minority but I loved that old Pink uniform - it really popped on the field. Although - the guard uniform - not so much. But you could tell that Star was really evolving with this show, and they could have just as easily placed in the top 5 that year along with Phantom. It was that good a year for drum corps. PHANTOM REGIMENT Wow - we beat them???? Holy crap is this show clean and good. Color guard is flawless - although I'm not sure I would have given them best guard (they won it that year). I think that what hindered Phantom was having to go on so early (it was the year of the random drawing experiment gone wrong at DCI!!!!). Although it probably helped us stay in 5th This is one of those shows that you just "watch". No analyzing, no critiquing, no judgements nothing. You press play, you watch it for ten minutes and then you go -wow. Thats the best way to explain this show. CAVALIERS Its hard to review a show that you were a part of - but what the hey. Its funny that 2 years ago people were raving about how Vanguard started the show with the hornline at 2 opposite ends of the field with the guard in the middle and how hard it was to get both sides to play together. Weeeeelllll.....thats exactly how we started the show in 1988 - and yes it took forever for us to get it right - but once we did - wow what a cool opener. I still don't like those little "fire" bolts that we had to take out of our guantlets in the drum solo but all in all - we came a llloooooonnnngggggg way that year. I'm really proud of that show - because we really had to work hard to get it to work - and we had alot of pressure to not be the Cavaliers corps that fell out of the top 5. GARFIELD CADETS After that stellar 1987 show - 1988 is a letdown. It seems like a totally disjointed show that was put together at the last minute. I don't even get all those guard props that the guard handles in the first minute of the show - Disco balls????? Huh??? This was the first year that Garfield added guys to the guard - really good guard that year. The drill is also really great. It just seems that the great individual parts of this show added up to something less. Maybe its just me (and it usually is) but I just didn't get it. 1989 more than makes up for it though!!!!! BLUE DEVILS Without a doubt one of my favorite shows of all time. I remember everyone complaining that year the BD had no drill, yadda, yadda, yadda, but you know what - who cares!!! This show was the total entertainement package. I LOVE the beginning version of "Happy Days are Here Again" with the guard in the white dresses, the oversized feathers and those ballons - I guess they had to rent a helium tank for tour. Musically, this is one of the shows that I listen to over, and over and over and over - its just that good. Although I wasn't in love with the change to an all grey Blue Devils - it still works. And that guard - my god could they perform and dance like no other - this kind of guard show wouldn't score under today's system - and that's too bad - 'cause they added to that show like you wouldn't believe without having to resort to all kinds of tricky equipment work. I still think they should have won it all in 88. VANGUARD The first year of Phantom of the Opera. What a cool show. Love this version more than the 89 version. The guard girls with the candeloberas, the rifle line in tuxedos - the musical arrangements - it just seems like a much more emotional version of the show (whereas 89 seems more mechanical). Vanguard cut the guys from the guard after 88 (2 came over to march with us). I wonder why - as they added so much more to the theme. Overall though - still a great Vanguard show - and the push in Music of the Night was incredible (as is the disappearing Phantom seen running off the field trick). MADISON SCOUTS I know that this is a favorite with alot of people, and I love the 2nd part of the show, but the whole opener leaves me flat (and yes I saw their prelims performance too). THey were good, REALLY good, but I had them in 3rd. What a rifle though - probably one of the most athletic rifles lines on the field back then. I always used to love the Madison color guard - they had this really distintice look to them and a way of performing that was totally "Madison" (its hard to explain). They really were a dark horse that year - that was the beauty of that DCI - we really had no idea where anyone was going to place, and anyone in the top 7 or 8 could easily have been top 5. What a year - what a suntan!!!!!! Later, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex VK DM Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 Another month, another new Legacy DVD :) This time I bought 1988 - a special year for me - first year marching with the Cavaliers, and my first time making finals (after having competed at DCI every year since 1982!!!). Man was it hot that year. All I remember is sun, sun, sun and more sun. SKY RYDERS What happened to the guard between 1987 and 1988???? I was so used to seeing Sky with killer rifles lines, and great all-around colorguards that this show came as quite a shock. all flag for the whole show, and a real let-down from the 85-87 guard programs. The music from the Sound of Musice had some nice moments (especially the jazz version of My Favorite Things), but all in all this just isn't my kind of show - kudos for marking it in though, as most people had counted them out in '88 (I had alot of friends in Dutch Boy that year though, and really thought that they would make it in). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The guard may have been on flag the entire show, but there were 2 girls in the guard that I could watch the ENTIRE show. All I remeber is one wore a purple dress and the other wore pink. Hot! Hot! Hot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 Down, Bill...down....DOWN, Bill! Sure you weren't watching the Suncoast "Calves from ####" dancer instead?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
From The Pressbox Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 Screw the Draw!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDguardsman Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 I just purchased the 1988 DVD myself... I liked this year because i can watch all of the shows... I just started really getting the drum corps thing that year because Key Poulan was one of our band directors at the time and he helped me understand the history and the direction corps were going at the time.... I liked the Spirit of Atlanta show, I guess it was just the wrong show for them to present after being known for something completely different. Oh yeah and i thought of "guardguy89" when I watched Cavies..... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex VK DM Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 Down, Bill...down....DOWN, Bill!Sure you weren't watching the Suncoast "Calves from ####" dancer instead?? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Sam, leave my find memories alone, they're all I've got. Ü Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Soprano Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 1988, like Farmer Ted -Very Hot. Omaha, Nebraska was like 105 degrees. Was there a more desolate spot to try and find a bar near the stadium? You don't get those kind of calves doing high mark time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingusmonk Posted January 31, 2005 Share Posted January 31, 2005 OK. I was starting to get into drum corps very deeply as a fan around this time, so I am going to pile on - in a good way, I hope. I attended the following shows in '88. June 20, 1988 - Mishawaka, IN June 26, 1988 - Goshen, IN July 16, 1988 - Dekalb, IL - DCM Championships August 10, 1988 - Bloomington, IN August 13, 1988 - Marion, OH (US Open) (Ah, the glory days of Indiana drum corps. So many shows, so little time, so little access to mom and dad's car :) ) So I got my fill during the famous midwest summer drought of '88. Glad I didn't march in that heat. Especially considering that Bluecoats were still lugging around those tanks known as Ludwigs :P (you out there Phil?) The Bluecoats had it all out there when the season started. I saw them barely get beat by the Cavaliers on 6/20 (And remaining close in Goshen on 6/26). Both the content of the show and the level of the performance didn't evolve too much as the season progressed. It was fun as a fan to be able to see a corps performing a show so well when the season started. As too often, shows aren't even done in the opening weeks. I marched with my share of '88 alumni, and they were all really close group as a result of that summer. It seemed that the tough year made for some tight bonding. The Cavaliers' Firebird show was a real leap that year. I remember both of my (drum-corps-saavy) band directors being baffled by the show in June. They were thinking that the Cavies staff had lost their mind. Looking back, it appears that they were probably ahead of the curve on some of the show's, um ... artistic ... nature (sorry, not sure how to put it). As this show would have fit in probably better in about 5 more years. I really enjoy this show now. Probably more than most 5th place shows. I only went to finals of DCM championships. That was a memorable experience. The Madison Scouts were NOT good. I'm not sure how else to put it. I had a chance to chat with my old drum mentor and instructor, who had attended prelims, and the comments were not so postive. There was a buzz around the stands and it was not the kind of buzz Madison would have wanted. As far as the Cavaliers came during the '88 season, the Scouts came even further. And obviously in a more accessible fashion. Especially when you consider they spent a good portion of the first tour in Europe. Here were the DCM final scores: 1 Phantom Regiment 84.000 2 Star of Indiana 83.000 3 Cavaliers 81.900 4 Madison Scouts 81.400 5 Bluecoats 78.300 6 Sky Ryders 71.700 So this was my first chance to see Phantom Regiment ... ever. Boy did they come out of the gate strong (as would be their habit in the late 80's). I find this show connects very well. The brass writing is key. I know that their overall percussion arrangements were starting to become a little dated, but that freaking snare line was just sick. Kind of a midwest drummers dream at that point. Opening with that Ritardando snare double stroke roll. Very ballsy move. I have heard some stories from alumni about trying to learn the drill to the drum solo. Apparently Marty had to explain the rhythmn of each bar, one at a time, for them. Is this a drum corps urban legend? This was also my first chance to really see Star for the year. Although I had already had some exposure to the program, as there were some connections at my high school. There are probably about 4 Star shows that I like more than this, but I really enjoyed it. Again - from a teenage drummer perspective ... Unison mallets doing the Porgy and Bess theme?!? Whoo-hoo! There was not a lot of talk about "great sideline percussion" in those days, but Star ruled the late 80's (along with SCV). Also, the battery was talented and had creative integration of the snare and tenor sections. Cut to August and Star's home show. The last year for the Bloomingtin soccer stadium show! My first Blue Devils experience. And what a way to start. '88 Devils is my 2nd favorite BD show of all time (next to '86). The program just oozed with attitude. From start to finish, it had at all. Wailing, soft jazzy touch, and the closing "west coast jazzers can also scatter, and be a lot cooler doing it." They ended up right in the middle of a very compact Top 4 that year. Cavies had begun to open the gap on the Bluecoats and Star was close behind. Top Scores (which will be more relevant in a moment): 1 Blue Devils 95.200 2 Cavaliers 93.300 3 Star of Indiana 92.400 4 Bluecoats 87.600 A few days later, I take my parents on their first Drum Corps excursion. Or were they taking me? To the 1988 US Open Finals in Marion, OH. I have no recollection as to why we went this show instead of something closer (Indy? Ft Wayne?). We arrived and parked and a kind soul told us that there was a hissing sound coming from our vehicle. We went back and could not confirm it - must be nothing. Prelims results looked like this: 1 Garfield Cadets 93.200 2 Phantom Regiment 92.800 3 Star of Indiana 92.300 4 Dutch Boy 84.600 5 Blue Knights 76.400 6 Colts 75.300 7 Spartans (WA) 63.200 8 Glassmen 62.300 9 Beatrix 59.200 10 Oakland Crusaders 51.400 So I was well familiar with all of these big dog's programs at this point, except Garfield. I had heard of it, but had niether heard nor seen it. As an aspiring music major, and quirky teenager, I was intrigued by this show. Copelands 3rd came across OK. But of course, Cadets had to push the envelope. My mother, the music appreciator of my family, was baffled. Much like my band directors witnessing the Cavaliers months earlier. I was instantly impressed by the split drumlines, but there was not much to latch into from this show. As the scores began to be announced, it was obvious that things were a little shook up. The lower placing corps were taking extreme shifts. Next thing you know, Star of Indiana was the winner of the US Open. Over Cadets AND PR!! As they had done the week before! Needless to say, our friends in Star were exstatic that they were positioned to be Top 4 or 5 material with the championship show just one week away. US Open Scores below: ... Oh, and when we got back to the van, and it had a flat tire. 1 Star of Indiana 94.300 2 Garfield Cadets 93.800 3 Phantom Regiment 93.300 4 Dutch Boy 86.000 5 Blue Knights 80.000 6 Colts 78.500 7 Glassmen 65.600 8 Spartans (WA) 65.200 9 Beatrix 59.600 10 Oakland Crusaders 44.400 Obviously finals week did not go as planned or as expected for everyone. I was not there, and as was shocked to come home from band camp and watch the results: Cotton McKnight:And the Average Joe's beat the Purple Cobras in a *shocking* upset. Pepper Brooks: I feel *shocked* So went 1988. Enter 1989 - my quests to see more shows in one summer than any fan should. and to see SCV do Phantom of the Opera before I die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchromik Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 I only went to finals of DCM championships. That was a memorable experience. The Madison Scouts were NOT good. I'm not sure how else to put it. I had a chance to chat with my old drum mentor and instructor, who had attended prelims, and the comments were not so postive. There was a buzz around the stands and it was not the kind of buzz Madison would have wanted. As far as the Cavaliers came during the '88 season, the Scouts came even further. And obviously in a more accessible fashion. Especially when you consider they spent a good portion of the first tour in Europe. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can remember that day well. The Scouts were having some 'issues' almost the entire first tour that year. That night they tried to 'un-cork' one and move up the ladder. But it just made things worse. It was exciting and 'white noise' loud though. So we are all down at retreat and the field is wet from the afternoon rain. Scores are announced and the Scouts are obvioulsly not happy. The girl comes over to the corps to give them their 'orange cone' DCM finalist patches. They wave her off. They didn't want their patches. Then they call her back. They get their patches and proceed to throw them on the turf. Then they take and knee on the patches so they wouldn't get a wet knee. Some may have thought it somewhat tasteless, but it was funny for those of us down there that night. Obviously they worked those issues out by August. 88' was a great year to be in corps. But it was hotter then Hades that year. We had gone out to California in late June for a few shows. We had a free day in San Fran and it was only 57degrees! I can remember praciticing in Salt Lake and California with sweat cloths and corps jacket on, hood up. Then one morning we wake up in Omaha, and its 80 some with 80% humidity, at 8:00 in the morning! The midwest was just one big sauna the rest of tour. But you should have heard the senoirity of the hornline after practicing for days at altitude in Utah and Wyoming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecoats88 Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 yep I'm here and yes we did carry those big old heavy squaring off ludwigs. crappy drums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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