Favorite Blue Devils Show that Didn't Win

[Lancerlady]

Oh how I loved that 1988 show...the horn line, the color guard and yes, I even liked the uniforms. It has to be me one of my all time favorite BD shows.

[Kekasse]

Close call between 1990 and 2000.

They deserved to win in 2000 IMO.

[OrlandoContraAlum]

88 gets the vote by a whisker (or piece of tape) over 84... by .1

(Right Sam?)

85 Just can't get out of 3rd place, but man, I love that show too...

^0^

[PR_ducky]

I have to with 88, although 05 was a close call.

I liked the 05 show, as well as the fact I had friends marching in it. would have been great if BD had gone undefeated for 2 straight years.

Other favs of mine are 90 (the tommy show) a bit different, but I liked it, and 92, when a man loves a woman, great stuff.

[bradrick]

Oh how I loved that 1988 show...the horn line, the color guard and yes, I even liked the uniforms. It has to be me one of my all time favorite BD shows.

( NOTE: My comments are not meant to slight the 1988 Madison or SCV corps. They both had amazing shows, corps and performances and I believe they deserved every bit of recognition and reward that they received.)

But I was thinking about how much power a corps placement in just one show, DCI Finals, has to profoundly affect the long-term perception of that corps' merit for that year.

I believe that if the Blue Devils had won in 1988, they would be remembered as one of those legendary achievements - like the shows that get listed way up high on threads titled "Greatest Drum Corps Shows of All Time". But they came in third.

I can say without hesitation that in my own personal experience the hornline that had the most gorgeous, lush, mature sound with the best tone quality, intonation and voicing (notice he didn't say anything about loudness or power) would be the 1988 Blue Devils hornline.

Absolutely amazing to listen to live. It was like listening to a large professional jazz orchestra.

From a musicality, uniformity and phrasing standpoint, The 1988 Blue Devils hornline was definitely one of the cleanest I've ever heard live. It was absolutely beautiful the way all horns in each section were following the same "arc" or phrasing and it was extremely hard to find individuals poking out of the texture of the music. You could just sit back and let it wash over you.

B)

[torn8o]

...of course i don't think they should have won that year either...

Grrrrrrrrrrr.......... We were 2 points ahead of Cavies all year. :P

It's all good.

[EKBari]

It was hard for me to decide.

I would have to say 1984 was the show that should have won.

But I would also liked to have seen '83 win because it was just a outright jam session. '85 was one of the best musically programmed shows top to bottom. '88 with the new altos made that hornline one of the best ever. '95 was great both visually and musically and the hornline was just peel your face off loud. Especially that chord they hit at the end of the show.

[torn8o]

I can say without hesitation that in my own personal experience the hornline that had the most gorgeous, lush, mature sound with the best tone quality, intonation and voicing (notice he didn't say anything about loudness or power) would be the 1988 Blue Devils hornline.

You know what though??? That WAS for me the loudest hornline I have ever heard in DCI to date. Everything you said about their quality and intonation is true (and may even be a factor in their volume), but make no mistake about it - that hornline WAS loud. I remember watching them rehearse in Glenwood Springs Colorado that year (Freelancers stayed at the same school), it's the only time I've ever thought "man, they need to back it down - that's just TOO loud!!!!". Seriously, It hurt! I remember vividly thinking that I wanted to plug my ears...but in my pride - I didn't want to give them that satisfaction seeing me do that so I suffered the pain (isn't drum corps pride silly - oh well, that was me at age 14).

What I would give to go back in time with a DB meter and watch that runtrouhg again.

Edited February 3, 2006 by torn8o

[tommytimp]

I voted for 84, because that show as a whole is one of the most bad-azz I ever saw in corps. The 88 hornline is the shiznitz, no doubt the best I ever heard, but the show as a whole doesn't thrill me as much as 84.

[BamRam]

1980 ^0^