MADISON SCOUTS..Out of Gas..Down for the Count

[madsop75]

Ok, I asked a couple of days ago with “0” response but I’m forced to ask again! No matter how much you believe the Scouts have improved this year, the word on the street is that they have fallen into a repeated, insidious funk called “Augustis Peakith” (translation, inability to finish the year strong come August) I’m hearing all sorts of theories bantered about but as I see it, with most issues its nothing more then speculation and armchair quarterbacking!

Here’s how I call it. I’ve been quite close to the Madison Scouts for most of my adult life. I marched with the Scouts for 10 years (junior and senior). I’ve experienced the highest of highs and the absolute depths with my brothers. From the very beginning of this season (05) starting with winter camps it was easy to see that the Scouts were going to be vastly improved in every area of the corps. Now, I’m a horn guy that always sat on the drum bus because I’ve always been enthralled by percussion and to top it off I love watching the precision of guard practice! So when it comes to evaluating drum corps I kind of think of myself as a Renaissance Man. I was very impressed by this new mammoth horn line but was left wondering why 72 horns still couldn’t pump out the volume of 64?? (The old B vs. G debate and a discussion for another day) One of the most striking things was how much improved the percussion sounded and looked, I mean, it was very evident that these guys came to play with a new attitude. When I watched the guard and saw “the girl” the jig was up! After breathing in and out of a paper bag for about 10 minuets, I got over it and realized, hey, there’s actually something like 30 guys here in the middle of winter that are dancing, spinning and tossing. It hasn’t been this way for, I don’t know, like forever!!! (Remember a concept called X-Men?)

So I’m thinking, this is really looking cool! I’m feeling pretty jazzed! Well usually about this stage of the game though I claim I’m from the “Show Me State” (Missouri) Call it age, call it gray hair but one thing I tend to carry in my pocket as I grow older is a little devise called the “Hype Meter”. Well I’ve got to tell you that the shtick that was oozing from those rehearsals was nothing short of brilliance coming forth from Michael C. Here’s the best way I can sum it up. The more I listened to the complete book the more conflicted I was becoming. For me, it was a battle between the hype and what I was hearing. I kept on asking myself, is it just me??? What I mean is, yea, it sounds great, but I’m left hanging. The entire book seemed so segmented; it didn’t seem to tell the story emotionally like a Madison book is supposed to do. The opener was just ho hum, the middle (or the surprise!) was kind of, oh, that’s nice and then the closer was, huh, that’s it!!!

You see, the problem as I saw it was, these guys were so incredibly hyped up about this show and I wasn’t seeing it that I really started thinking that I’m just emotionally dead and maybe this is what happens as you get older. THE ACTIVITY HAS PASSED ME BY!

I’ve decided though to stick with my original instincts. I believe I know a bad show from a brilliant one and I can smell hype from 50 paces. Now don’t get me wrong, Madison has a great show this year and no matter where they end up, I believe that this year will be rightfully looked upon as another big step in the right direction. What I’m mainly referring to is all of the early season to mid season hype and the inability to look at a program objectively. Again, from my perspective Madison is improved but at this moment they don’t have the depth of show of Phantom and don’t be surprised again by a late surge from the Bluecoats or Crown. For that I say, it’s a shame because I for one believed these guys had the collective talent this year to take it a bit further. Call me a pessimist, but I don’t think so! And I for one hope that I can eat my words but by this time of the season we should have seen A LOT more equipment work from the guard. We should have seen the ending of the show mature into something “Madisonesque” but it seems that the staff hasn’t found that “something”. We should be hearing that the crowd is experiencing spontaneous ovations to there feet throughout the show, but its not happening. By my experience this is all very uncharacteristic at this point of the season if one is hoping to have more left in the tank!

I’ve said all that to simply say that love is blind and Madison simply doesn’t have the complete package this year. Great show, yet left wanting!

I’ve said my piece, now what say ye?

Sincerely,

Madsop75

[Cavaqueers69]

I'm guessing they've had a little too much of Carmen b**bs b**bs b**bs

and not enough marching and playing.

[baritoneguru]

trolling comments removed by OldAgeOut

Edited August 5, 2005 by OldAgeOut

[DCIFanOfAllDivisions]

I thought when I saw the show in Murfreesboro that the show didn't flow very well and the girl was just a flashy GE thing. I think they should have waited for finals week to bring the girl out IMO... but again, I just didn't get the feeling the show flowed very well

[Dinosaur]

Madsop - you've written a thoughtful piece. I'm a bit disappointed to see responses such as 'baritoneguru' - a person I've asked to be locked on another thread.

Being from the same era as you - mostly - I've been wanting to like drum corps for the last 6-7 years, but have been finding it more and more difficult. I tend to listen with my eyes - I tend to like corps I've always liked, and judge more harshly those that I used to dislike when I was young. Noticing this, I've worked for more objectivity. That has helped. But it has also removed some of the blinders and I'm noticing the similarity to Gertrude Stein. She's the one who said (of a city, but the line fits some drum corps), "There is no there there".

By that I mean the very essence of drum corps - music and drill (or movement as we now call it). Take Madison, whom I saw in Indy. I too was excited to see and hear them, having read all the positive reports. The opener was good, though not 'face tearing' as I recall. I chalked it up to being high in a dome where every drum line of every corps seemed to have 98 drummers all playing out of time.

Then Carmen appeared and I, like the entire rest of the stadium, couldn't take my eyes off of her. Very quickly I realized that distraction was the point, so I forced myself to watch the drill and listen carefully to the music. I'm sorry, I have to agree with you - bleh. It's lines, chords, and fine playing and movement - but it does not add up to a huge positive effect. It's...boring. It's like a magician's sleight of hand - they get you to look where they want in order that you don't see the trick.

And Madison is not the only corps to use this psuedo musical magic trick. BD and Cadets left me with a similar feeling. Especially BD. Cadets less so, as I very much appreciated the quality of playing and marching they showed.

I thought overall, the crowd reaction was so much less enthusiastic than I remember from even as recent at 96. The best responses of the night came for Phantom and Cavies - both shows without narration and with some familiar music - though I'm not a big advocate of playing immediately recognizable music. I do however believe corps would benefit from choosing excellent music.

Threads like this can encourage long winded responses - so I'll close. I hope other posters do not follow 'baritoneguru' and post innane comments.

[chris ncsu]

I saw the show in Salem, VA a few nights ago, and it left me pretty flat, too. It sounded like a Blue Devils arrangement (choppy), the guard didn't grab me, the appearance of Carmen was fun but then I got distracted by her and had to force myself to watch and listen to the show as a whole, and the ending didn't go anywhere. :-/

[PR ROCKS]

I think Madison has continued their movement back into the upper level of corps. I saw them in Murfreesboro, and they are good with a good show. I was left feeling, however, that the brass didn't play very much. The show is like a bunch of highlight moments without the build or resolution that it takes to get to the highlight. I wish they would have embraced at least one of the themes from Carmen and developed it musically. Still they are an excellent corps.

[Phansouth]

The closer just doesn't work. It's the kind of closer BD did in 94 and I didn't care for that either.

I think the first eight minutes are the best they've put out since 97.

[ssorrell]

As far as I'm concerned, they've topped 90 in early August...what's the problem????!!!!

So they might end up being surpassed by Crown or Bluecoats...that's indicative that we are having a GREAT season. Why does that have to mean that the Scouts are "down for the count"?

Yea, Madison! You're back in the middle of the pack. You pushed the top corps briefly a few weeks ago, but you're not gone by a long shot. Nowadays, it takes a stellar show with absolute maturity in the line to pull off a top 3 or 4 bid. Your show might be missing that mark slightly, but it's a great vehicle to keep you on people's minds for another race next year.

Edited August 5, 2005 by ssorrell

[bluecoats88]

everything I've read (haven't seen top 6 except for cadets in june) says that madison has a good show but not quite as difficult as the rest of top 6, and possibly even crown as well. this translates to them doing well early on because they were performing the #### out of a good show and the other corps weren't quite up with them in performance but their difficulty was keeping them close.

well it looks now like the others PR, Bluecoats, and Crown have cleaned up their shows to the level of the scouts and now their difficulty is helping them pass them.

The same thing happened to us when I marched back in 87 & 88. we would come out a lot cleaner with a show which was easier and as everyone else cleaned we got passed by. It's been taking longer for corps to pass madison because their difficulty is still high just maybe not quite as high as the others.

it looks like a good battle for 5th at quarters, the next time 'Coats & Scouts meet.