festive Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 (edited) I just got back from San Antonio. The Top 5 is exactly where it should be at this point. 1. Props to Cavies for perhaps the most outright enjoyable program from them since 2000 (for me). It beats Bond, for pure enjoyment. And they are playing/marching it very well. 2. BD is quite good, but their program didn't grow on me this second viewing. They are performing it very, very well. It is a lot of fun, but Cavies got 'em. :) 3. This is the best Regiment show since 1993. I like it more than the Championship program. They were a CONVINCING third. There was no doubt; I also would not have placed them higher than that. Great crowd response, too...I won't say anything more about it. I am a Phan, true, but anyone who thinks Regiment is beneath any other corps in the Top 5 is smoking something particularly potent. Knocking Regiment will just make you look foolish at this point, so don't bother. 4. Bluecoats. I love this show. Just like last year, Bluecoats remind me how much I love drum corps...they bring everything I enjoy in the jazz style corps to the table. 5. Cadets. There is no other reason for the placement, other than they earned it. Upon closer examination, it is a fun show...and it is, as said elsewhere, a natural extension of last years program...just not at that level of performance, IMO (and apparently the opinion of the judges as well). I don't hate it--not at all. I don't see them getting ahead of Bluecoats, who EARNED fourth. Just like with Regiment...don't kid yourselves if you think the 'coats aren't playing with some serious fire this year. I've never seen a more competent and talented Bluecoat corps. B) They are playing to win. BTW: 1-2 aren't on a "different planet" in terms of design and performance. They happen to be performing better at this point, and that may well hold through finals. But I believe Bluecoats are your newest member of the Top 4. Nothing is settled at this point. NO animosity intended in the above. Top to bottom, a great year for drum corps...and you should come out to as many shows as you can get to. Other highlights for me: SCV. I dig this show. I don't get it, exactly, but I like it. I want to see it again. Glassmen: I love this show. Class! Elegance!! Great creative take on the source material. Edited July 25, 2006 by festive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athensdawg22 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Touche' my friend, touche'. If you like it great, love it, embrace it, make it your lifes calling to applaud every step, every character, every sung note, and every prop, enough already with being so rabid and shoving how "great" this show is down our throats, the boasting is getting a little bit ridiculous and overshadowing those of us who dont care for the product. Gosh, even going so far as to procalim the second coming, babies burning, and an assured DCI title with the Looking glass sequal. It bewilders me when I read the show is staged and designed just right, and the flaw lies with the viewer, not the designer. Whatever the reason, I applaud the efforts of those trying to make this work. I guess it all really comes down to what you like and what you dont like. I know, I know, everyone who likes the show, stop posting, and everyone that doesnt like the show stop posting..then we can ALL be happy !!! I never said you have to like the show. I never said I wanted to "throw babies" on the field after every cadets performance. I also never said that I think the cadets should win this year. I didn't say the Cadets didn't have flaws this year. All I said was, I enjoy what the cadets are putting forth. It seems to me that the "cool" thing to do is bash the Cadets. I personally don't mind the narration. I think it's pretty cool actually. I try to be a fan of every Corps because I love DCI. I am not going to sit here and bash any corps because of what they are doing. Just not my style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athensdawg22 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Exactly. Gosh, I remember in 1988 when we saw the Cadets for the first and only time before Worlds how almost intimidating it was. I knew they had already lost to Star at DCI Canada, but still it was intimidating. I remember watching their performance with the rest of the corps, and we were all awe-struck. I remember asking a member who had marched years if he thought we were far behind. His reply - "Probably 5 points or so." Well they ended up beating us 89.0 to 88.9. That was when we really knew how good we were in '88.Madison and SCV are definitely my two favorite corps, but man you just had to give the Cadets the unmost respect, because what the did on the field was (and is) incredible. I am merely attacking the design, because quite frankly if everyone's polite than our disgust will not be heard. I would love to know how former Cadet members feel about this show. My qualms with some of the posts on this forum are more with the semantics. It is as if people are stating suppossed 'fact' that the Cadets design is horrible and the narration is wretched, when it is purely opinion. Case in point, I think the design is terrific and the narration is well-received. This is my opinion...That is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxingfred Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I really like festive and athensdawgs post. I couldn't have said it better myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasPRfan Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I just got back from San Antonio.The Top 5 is exactly where it should be at this point. 1. Props to Cavies for perhaps the most outright enjoyable program from them since 2000 (for me). It beats Bond, for pure enjoyment. And they are playing/marching it very well. 2. BD is quite good, but their program didn't grow on me this second viewing. They are performing it very, very well. It is a lot of fun, but Cavies got 'em. :) 3. This is the best Regiment show since 1993. I like it more than the Championship program. They were a CONVINCING third. There was no doubt; I also would not have placed them higher than that. Great crowd response, too...I won't say anything more about it. I am a Phan, true, but anyone who thinks Regiment is beneath any other corps in the Top 5 is smoking something particularly potent. Knocking Regiment will just make you look foolish at this point, so don't bother. 4. Bluecoats. I love this show. Just like last year, Bluecoats remind me how much I love drum corps...they bring everything I enjoy in the jazz style corps to the table. 5. Cadets. There is no other reason for the placement, other than they earned it. Upon closer examination, it is a fun show...and it is, as said elsewhere, a natural extension of last years program...just not at that level of performance, IMO (and apparently the opinion of the judges as well). I don't hate it--not at all. I don't see them getting ahead of Bluecoats, who EARNED fourth. Just like with Regiment...don't kid yourselves if you think the 'coats aren't playing with some serious fire this year. I've never seen a more competent and talented Bluecoat corps. B) They are playing to win. BTW: 1-2 aren't on a "different planet" in terms of design and performance. They happen to be performing better at this point, and that may well hold through finals. But I believe Bluecoats are your newest member of the Top 4. Nothing is settled at this point. NO animosity intended in the above. Top to bottom, a great year for drum corps...and you should come out to as many shows as you can get to. Other highlights for me: SCV. I dig this show. I don't get it, exactly, but I like it. I want to see it again. Glassmen: I love this show. Class! Elegance!! Great creative take on the source material. Wow, Chris. I just posted a long, full review in the review section, but I think I agree with just about everything you just said, although I think I have more concerns about Cadets' design. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I have always respected your input when you see a show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gellio Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 My qualms with some of the posts on this forum are more with the semantics. It is as if people are stating suppossed 'fact' that the Cadets design is horrible and the narration is wretched, when it is purely opinion.Case in point, I think the design is terrific and the narration is well-received. This is my opinion...That is all. Well that's the beauty of this activity I guess. It sucks to see GH take this route just for the sake of taking it...because IN MY OPINION that's what he's doing. I feel bad for the members because the finals crowd is likely not going to react well to it. I think it's sickening to be frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athensdawg22 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Well that's the beauty of this activity I guess. It sucks to see GH take this route just for the sake of taking it...because IN MY OPINION that's what he's doing. I feel bad for the members because the finals crowd is likely not going to react well to it. I think it's sickening to be frank. The crowd didn't react too well to the Cadets last year and they won. I feel bad for the members who peruse this site and read all the garbage being spewed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gellio Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 The crowd didn't react too well to the Cadets last year and they won. I feel bad for the members who peruse this site and read all the garbage being spewed. Do you feel bad for the producers, actors, crew, etc of a movie you say sucks? Do you feel bad for everyone involved with a theater production you think sucks? Do you feel bad for the chef if you think your meal sucks? I could go on and on and on...and it's the nature of the game. Put a product out there and some are going to love it and some (like me) are going to hate it. It's the nature of the game. If you can't take the heat stay out of ####'s kitchen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbjazz Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 (edited) I just got back from San Antonio, and I don't have any problem with the Cadets' placement at all. Right now they are the 5th place corps. I'm a brass person, so the drums sound good to me, but I can't get more detailed than that. Their brass on the other hand is quite frankly dirtier than the corps ahead of them. They're also not as clean as they were at this point last year, not even close. Their forms look good, but their individual technique is lacking compared to the corps ahead of them. Once again, they're not as clean as they were at this point last year. Also, the drill doesn't "flow" like it did last year and is imo, not as good as the corps ahead of them. Also, there seems to be a lot of argument of whether or not the singing in the ballad adds or detracts. I can say for certain, that from the 8th row up between the side one 45 and the 50 on Saturday, July 22, 2006, the singing was not only annoying, but way too loud. I could NOT hear the brass. I could hear cymbal rolls, but the singing was covering up the brass to the extent that they might as well have not been playing. This was sad, because based on the recordings I had heard I was hoping for it to be the high point of the show, not the worst. Edited July 25, 2006 by lbjazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kusankusho Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Um...singing does indeed have a place in drum corps...for decades actually. Accoustically, not into a mic....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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