Madison observations and reflections...

[mobrien]

In no particular order

Crown got hosed. Unfortunately, they got hosed by their own percussion line. The sound of the hornline was at least as good as the corps in the 4,5,6 positions. Visually, some beautiful things going on. I've never been a big fan, but liked them a LOT this weekend. A newbie who went with me had them ranked second in her list of "how they SHOULD place." I wouldn't go that high, but I'd put their show design up with SCV and Bluecoats. Get the drumline up to speed for next year, and they should be in good shape.

I'd watch SCV over and over and never get tired of it. Friday night was a much stronger performance, and the ranking was warranted. Last night was a little off imho, and the placement was equally warranted. BUT Pete Weber is an excellent fit for them, and I'm looking forward to what they do next year. The midwestern fans always try to show the members that Vanguard has never lost their status of being our 'adopted' west coast corps. Good job, SCV.

- The Cadets

I was upstairs just a few feet down from the press box for both nights. The combination of poor speaker placement/angle and sound levels set so low that the vocals upstairs were nearly inaudible gave them big problems for the upper deck crowd. When you're doing sound checks, you check sound THROUGHOUT the room you're playing, not just house front. Cadets didn't seem to do this, to their detriment. As a result, any effect they COULD have gotten from the vocal additions was completely negated, since every time the sound dropped out of their show, it seemed like an performance error. I could hear the snare line's dutting better than the those speaking into mics. I didnt sense 'hostility' to the show from the audience around me; I sensed "why can't I understand what they're saying and doing?" Some potentially good ideas on the drawing board, but very little attention paid to finding a way to get the ideas across to a roomful of strangers. That's a shame, since pound for pound, the members are as talented and disciplined as anyone on the field. Ah well, live and learn. Upside is that it's unlikely there'll be a sequel to this show.

In addition (who knows, maybe this will make sense to them in retrospect), you have to make a choice when you go the 'character' route. Half the time, the Wonderland beings were doing unison work in line with the rest of the guard, half of the time they were featured performers. Guess what? Doesn't work. If you're going to put a man in a bunny suit, you can't simply hand him a rifle and say "ok, go in with the rest of the guard" for period of time when you don't need him as a character. Anyone who's ever worked on a musical knows that even when a featured performer is working with a backup group (chorus or dancers), you STILL have to feature them in front or do SOMETHING to make sure that the audience knows that they're not just part of the group (just a change in costume isn't enough). This indicated a level of indecisiveness or incomprehension on the part of Cadets' design staff. Hoping that they can chalk this up to a lesson learned the hard way.

In case anyone thinks I'm an anti-Cadets borg, I'm not. I would still say that on the nights when the balance was right, Sanvean was the musical highlight of the year. The vocalist has a lovely voice (which made it all the more killing when she wasn't reading upstairs). And, from a drum corps traditionalist, I appreciate that at the end of the night, their staff got them off the field in a timely fashion so that the winning corps could perform their encore. This showed a high level of respect to both the winning corps and the audience who was waiting to hear them. Thanks!

- BD

First live viewing was on Friday night, Liked it a lot. Saturday night, the show was performed just as well. Liked it less. Seemed that there wasn't really a whole lotta depth to the production, though there was performance excellence up the wazoo. Great drum line. To be honest, I didn't really notice the guard all that much. I'm sure they were excellent, but didn't seem to be very integrated into the whole of the visual program. The mumbling lines from the movie didn't work at all, and served no purpose. In the end, the nature of the source concept was simply more than could really be colored into a drum corps show, so what you wound up with was some surface references that didn't make that much impact. Great performers, but a source concept that was (as WC Fields used to say about defining comedy) "like trying to pick up a slippery eel in a tub of water." The films themselves are cultural icons that have become part of the fabric of both American popular culture and the deeper study of American film art. Too big a subject to approach in a drum corps show.

- Bluecoats

Glad for them that they placed well. I'm not sure that I'd put them on top of SCV in the demand or GE departments, but they did what they did well. Their staff has to break out and try something really radical next year if they want to move up. Right now, they're playing a mid-tier show and playing it very well. Time for the next step.

- PR

I wouldn't have been upset or surprised if they'd won. They had real passion, and the audience was connecting with the show. Hot drum line, obviously. After I saw BD, I figured that PR could take 'em. I'd disagree with their GE visual rank, but oh well, I'm sure some horn guys will disagree with their GE Music number too. The fact that they've had two top-3 finishes in a row - a feat that has eluded this corps for a number of years - bodes very well for them. Congrats to their staff and members. Playing "Elsa's..." to the Cavaliers during retreat was a nice move. Thanks.

- Cavaliers

The complete package. The visual execution perfection was only matched by BD, imho, and even then, I'd still Green the edge. Snare line didn't seem particularly clean last night, but the musical expressiveness of the percussion section is par excellence. I'd disagree with their guard ranking; their contribution to the show seemed much more integral than anyone else's last night, and as a result, the members had more eyes on them. They should have taken the caption, imho. Kudos to the rifle soloist at the end of the ballad; nailed it both nights. They had a humor element that was missing from most of the rest of the corps this year, which made the show very approachable for first time viewers (I'm always surprised at how many at Finals are alums of various corps seeing their first show of the year). For my money, this might have been the best 'total concept' show of the current generation of Cavies productions. Congrats guys.

- Madison

Glad to see them move up. First 2/3 of the show were particularly strong. Either MR has to modify what he writes for them next year or they really gotta hit the gym early and build up the strength to do what they need to do. Contras had big problems hitting their spots, particularly. Liked what the guard was doing. Drums were a little 'meh', but the writing seemed appropriate to what they were doing. With a stronger conclusion than the Ginastera it might have had a chance to step up another spot or two. Strong finish for the year; hoping they can build on it for next year.

Various and sundry...

I love Madison and all, but I 'll have to confess that I won't miss Camp Randall in the least. The stadium isn't really up to hosting high ticket price events (outside of Badgers games, where the dynamic is very different). Concessions were a disaster (overpriced, poorly laid-out, and TERRIBLE quality food), the seating is uber-uncomfortable, and the parking situation, even with the shuttle, is inconvenient. Thanks for the hospitality in the past, but the event has outgrown that facility. Made the move to Indy look even smarter as the weekend wore on.

Next year, let's all drop the screeching metalic sound effects in the pit, 'k? Cute once, but really only worked in the one show it was most suited for.

Was impressed to see how well DCI's publicity/marketing department co-ordinated the local press and tourism coverage. Not hard to see that there was a big event in town.

18th century women's dresses and weapons spinning; not a combination that normally goes together.

Madison alumni corps kicked butt. My wife, who liked the junior corps, LOVED what they did. Was glad to see how many people at semis stuck around to watch them. The effort was appreciated. Thanks, gentlemen.

"Champions Fanfare" sounds much better with 700 horns than it does with 130. Still doesn't do much for me as a standalone piece of music (maybe because it isn't).

All in all, this was one of the best Finals line-ups I've seen in the 30 years I've been going. Thanks to all who put in the time and effort to make it happen.

Edited August 14, 2006 by mobrien

[PR ROCKS]

Nice thoughts.

By the way, PR had back to back top 3 finishes in 1993 and 1994.

[George]

nice recap - thanks!

[mobrien]

By the way, PR had back to back top 3 finishes in 1993 and 1994.

Noted and corrected, thanks.

[jwillis35]

Thanks for the review. Good job.

I agree with you that Madison, WI., for as much as everyone seems to love this city for Finals, is not the best location or stadium. I love the city, I really do. It is steeped in drum corps tradition and pride, and they love having us up there, and that kind of support can't be overlooked. But the seating in the stadium is too crowded, too close, and the concessions, as you mentioned, are awkwardly located, with thin rows to stand in line and poor parking. It is also way too difficult to find hotel space in the city. Unless you buy your tickets and hotel/travel package way in advance, finding hotel space in Madison for an event like this is a big pain.

Indianapolis will be a much better place. Better stadium, better parking, much bigger city, more hotels, bigger airport, and it will at the very least equal Madison in some of the areas that Madison is very good at. I look for Madison to become a DCI Midwest regional hot spot, and that's pretty cool, but Indy will be a fine home for DCI and the Finals starting in 2008.

[Frank Mulvaney]

It was the best ever.Our second finals there.Love the city and the area.Had some great meals at places recomended by DCPers.Did Madison alumni show ,quarters and finals and D2& 3 finals. Thought that several of the 13-23 had more entertainment value than many of the big boys.The D2s&3s were great.Too bad only a fraction of the out of towners saw them.I had scoofed at the suggestion that Academy was top 12 caliber .They made me a believer.Exceptionally entertaining show with some of the best brass GE that I've heard in a while.East Coast Jazz had some great charts and a couple of soloists that were as good as anybody in the D1s.Jersey Surf has to be the best 30th ranked corps of all time.Both my children live in So Cal but I'm not looking forward to the Rose Bowl.Camp Randall has the best sound of any big stadium that I've been in.

A big thanks to all the corps for a fabulous week of marching music art.

Frank

[IllianaLancerContra]

Noted and corrected, thanks.

And 3 consecutive top 2 77-79

[PR ROCKS]

And 3 consecutive top 2 77-79

Well, I think he recognized this fact. He said in the last 25 years.

[mobrien]

Yup. Glad to see them hitting a level of consistency in that department. Now we need to get Madison back up to full speed for a return to midwestern hegemony in the activity. :P

Edited August 14, 2006 by mobrien