Has the art of the ending been forgotten?

[cage]

Let's not forget Cavaliers in 1991-- that drill and the colorguard toss over the collapsing hornline.  Crowd starts throwing babies.

Add of course Madison 1988, SCV 1987, Phantom 1993.  And Cavaliers and Cadets both did pretty good in 2000.

But my favorite still would have to be Scouts 1995-- God I wish I had been there for that!  I get goosebumps just watching the reaction of the crowd from the soprano solos to the end.  EVERY TIME.  (wish the CD recording was better though)

Overall, I think the Scouts have always known how best to script an ending.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

1995 Scouts was the loudest applause I ever heard and I saw it at Allentown. As loud as they were playing you really couldn't hear them. The pit even got a standing O when they left the field. I do not ever remember ever feeling even close to the excitement that I felt that night, my heart was pounding so hard, my hands heart for two days, and my voice took three or four. What a show, probably will be my favorite for ever. If something tops that for me, they had better have the ambulance ready to go.

[GMichael1230]

This is something I have ben thinking about and planned on starting a thread about. The lack of an effective ending.

This past year, only foour corps:Phantom Regiment, Bluecoats, SCV, and Spirit had really good, developing finales. Only one other corps, The Cadets ahd an ending even remotely close to those we have come to look forward to, but by the time it developed, it was over.

Blue Devils, move forward jam sesion, Cavies, hats off,move forward jam session. Scouts, form a box and stop. Crown sudden ending with a "444", but this was still better than a move forward and jam session.

and so on....

Where are the long to develop, impactful masterpieces that used to get the crowd to their feet ? The intricate drill, spectacular guard work and the "wow" moments ??

I hope this is a trend that does not continue.

~G~

[GMichael1230]

Overall, I think the Scouts have always known how best to script an ending.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I take that one further and , although I agree with you, Star of Indiana had no rivals as they constantly stunned audiencs with their explsive, non-stop endings.

~G~

[TommySopranoContra]

Loud Endings? Santa Clara Vanguard 1999. Crowd was on their feet at least 20 counts before the cutoff

[bawker]

Do endings have to be loud?

Well, let's look at some of our favorite shows as a fan base.

SCV 1989, no loud ending here, although the push beforehand is. Madison 1995, well...duh. Phantom 1989, check. Star of Indiana 1993, check.

I've always been of the mind that a ending is all in the 'build up' that occurs before hand, and then taking full advantage of the "rise, fall, rise" nature of arranging for the idiom.

If you just decide, "Well, here's the end, time for a big chord!", then even though people realize "Oh, this is the end...they're playing loud", you've lacked the neccessary emotional and musical tools to get that standing "O" from your audience. Some that have left me flat are Madison 2004, Blue Devils 2005 and a few others. Of course, this is IMO; some people may list those shows as their favorite endings.

A good example of building up towards an "inevitable" conclusion is this years Cadets, although they cribbed some of it from Star of Indiana 1993. Another good "old school" example is the Cavalier "tag endings" of 1990-1993.

There has to be a "catch"...in the Cavaliers case, it was the flag work, in the case of SCV 1989, there was the emotional story of the "Phantom", and in some instances (like 1995 Scouts and 1989 Regiment) the horn line is the catch, by sheer force of the wall of sound, as they take you on a emotional journey from the brass charts alone.

Those are the ones that get me the most...when 64 players sound like 200, and make you bang the #### out of your steering wheel, couch cushion etc, when you watch them over and over.

Edited August 19, 2005 by bawker

[drumcat]

There have been many fantastic reviews on this site this year (thanks to all those people) and one of the recurring themes has been the subject of the choppiness of some of the arranging. As someone with a background in the visual side of the activity I can appreciate why that evolution has occurred, though with my 'fan' hat on I can't say that I really like it.

blah blah blah

If anyone from cavies ever happens to read this, hope the above doesn’t read as cavie bashing, call it my personal challenge to you guys for next year!  :)

Cheers.

ps - goosebump winner for me from the audio this year - Cadets ballad. Well done!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, I'd say they are improving. PR03 is a perfect example, but I don't think it's "old school", just a great finish.

Anyhow, if you want to hear a terrible ending that is completely trite, overdone, and epitomizes why corps don't do "old school" now, find a copy of BK95.

Half tone, half tone, quarter, quarter, eights, restate main theeeeeme, restate agaiiiiiin, drum lick, whole ff, whole fff, whole ffff jak du splash.

Thank goodness this has gone away...

[TexasPRfan]

This is a good thread, and I DO think that if you take the last 5 years, we don't see nearly as many climatic endings as we used to get. Only a few stick out to me:

Regiment in 00, 01 & 03

BD in 04 (only on Saturday night, with the train leaving the station)

Boston in 00

Cadets in 00 and 01

This is in stark contrast to the 80s and 90s, with so many tear the house down endings. Plus only 2 of the 7 I listed above have come after 2001.

Harvey

[Blue Devil Legend]

"Effective" does not have to equate to "Loud". It does have to give one a feeling of "closure" within the context of the entire program.

That said, "Loud" can be effective, as well as "Bookend" finales.

In regards to "bookend', the first one that comes to mind, and would be a good example of this would be from the '83 Cadets and RPH. It was a VERY effective close to their show. It wasn't loud, or "anemic', it was "effective".

The other side of that fence would be two endings that IMO were classic, those being '87 Cadets, and '89 SCV. They both brought "closure" within the context of the show.

For me, some finales that come to mind in this "modern" day of DC would be:

SCV '99

SCV' 03

SCV '04

SCV '05

BD '03

BD '04

PR '03

Sometimes I truly believe that drill-design has taken such a bite, that some of the "emotion" musically has taken a backseat in alot of programs, but........I still respect what designers are trying to do to keep the activity from getting stale, but I feel they must rekindle the magic of sound within the program.

Just my 2 cents.

Edited August 19, 2005 by Blue Devil Legend

[oldbandguy]

Some that have left me flat are Madison 2004, Blue Devils 2005 and a few others. Of course, this is IMO; some people may list those shows as their favorite endings.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Here's one that disagrees with you...or at least with one of your choices.

I loved the ending of the Scouts 2004. No other corps had the people on

their feet sooner and longer last year than did the Scouts. An ending of

that caliber in this year's show and Madison finishes 4th.

Now BD 2005...left me flat for about 11 1/4 minutes.

[mnscoutfan]

Overall, I think the Scouts have always known how best to script an ending.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not this year... :(

Luckily, I was able to see the '95 Scouts show many many times that year. The last time I saw it was Preview of Champions in Ypsilanti, MI. I agree with whoever said they couldn't hear the corps playing everyone was cheering so loud. It was the longest, loudest crowd reaction to a show I've ever seen. It was sooo unbelievable!