Season Recap, part 1

[Matt_S]

Inspired by the threads that were asking for our final thoughts, two corps at a time. Well, with the CDs coming out and having had a couple weeks to let the competitive juices ebb, let's hear what you think. Vote your enjoyment of each show, on a scale of one to five, and give us your final thoughts for each corps.

[CloudHype]

Loved all 3!!!

[pags]

Cavaliers was okay to me.

Phantom was very good (liked it).

LOVED Blue Devils.

Before I get trashed here, just know that I don't always judge shows against that year's competition, but rather against shows from that corps' past.

For instance, by comparison, I will play Cavaliers 2004 much more than 2005 and 2006 combined. This show is obviously one you have to see and had a great deal of technical excellence, but the majority of my drump corps "experience" is going to be on CD, because I will not always have time for the DVD's or to go to shows. 2004's 007 show is something I can listen AND/OR watch at any time.

Phantom 2006 was very good, but to me the show took awhile to get going and the ballad lost some if its novelty after mid-season, and I felt a more emotional pull in 2003 in all aspects (opener, ballad, closer). I even like 2005 a little bit more than this year. Still a great show, though...

However, I will play Blue Devils 2006 10x more than any year since 2000. That is not to say that 2001-2005 were bad years by any means, but that 2006 blows them all away in my musical preference.

[Matt_S]

Loved both Cavaliers and Phantom. I'll admit that Phantom took longer to grow on me, but I think most seem to agree that PR caught fire around midseason. They made something special out of that show, and I was glad to see them move up finals night.

Blue devils I liked, but I don't find myself listening to it very much. I was captivated by the show in Battle Creek, but I don't know if they plateaued around that point, or whether they just don't score as high on the rewatchability scale.

[usmpiano]

I liked the Cavaliers show. The level of sophistication and total package, thematic development visually and musically was outstanding.

This was my second favorite Phantom show ever. This brass line pulled some sounds that I've never heard in professional organizations. Simply amazing. A pit that converted me to being pro-amp (for pits) and amazing drumline...In my book they still win.

BD?

<puts on flame suit>

Schlock. Absolute and complete schlock.

NOT the kids fault. The problem is the source music. There are evidently only two themes to the godfather, and both were repeated ad nauseum. The visual was boring (running from one side of the field to the other for no apparent reason) and the music was simply boring.

PLEASE PLAY SOME REAL JAZZ!!!! GO BACK TO WHAT WORKS!!!

[bawker]

Cavaliers: Overall, this show is great. Sure, it relies on the same repeated motif and a twenty year old breakdancing move some, but one of the things about drum corps is that you can't communicate a concept unless you dabble in the fine art of exaggeration. Obviously the visual is amazing, but the horn charts seem to have a little more depth than the 2001-2003 years are accused of. Still, for me, this is one that has to be seen on the DVD to be totally appreciated for the most part...and as such, is a good example of what modern drum corps is: true musical/visual intergration overall. Further out (years from now), this may seem a sort of novelty show, though...but we don't have that hindsight yet.

Phantom Regiment: Most of the OG posters here will agree (and I'm one of them) that this show is balls out. Yes, the visuals take a while to develop, but who cares when you can play the mess out of a book like this one? One of my favorite Phantom shows I've seen, just behind 2003 as the best one they've done in the 00's. The release on the ballad is the stuff that dreams are made of. Some of the transitions are a little wonky, but when you reference this much literature, that's to be expected somewhat. Still, my favorite from the Top 12, with Crown close behind. Lots of emotion wins the day for 2nd place here...I have no real complaints, since this is basically drum corps the way I like it: big, loud and ######.

Blue Devils: I really had high hopes that this would be the show that got me back into BD big time. It did...and it didn't. As a self-confessed fan of the movies, I overlooked a lot of the criticism this show got...but upon repeated watching and listening, I can see that there's merit to those arguments. The beginning takes a long time to develop behind some WGI style flash that sounds more like 2003's opening than "Godfather" (although when the theme is finally introduced in the push, it's a great moment). After the glow of hearing the theme wears off, there's not quite enough here to sustain the corps to a 1st/2nd place finish. I think this is a big, big step in the right direction for BD, though.

[stockman365]

Phantom Regiment: I have no real complaints, since this is basically drum corps the way I like it: big, loud and ######.

I am listening to the show right now from the APD download, and just suddenly had the urge to crank up the volume after reading that!

[wdlover]

This brass line pulled some sounds that I've never heard in professional organizations.

Haha, I agree, there were some pretty awful sounds coming out of those horns! :)

[Tony L.]

I have to say that for me, the Cavies were really like a one trick pony -- I mean, if I had to see one more section of the robot I was going to scream. Seeing that show once was fun and cool, but seeing it 3 nights in a row, and it really didn't have much depth to it. SO for me, it was just a "don't care for it". I really couldn't hate it, I mean itwas on the whole a very well performed show.

Loved Phantom! And Liked BD.

[PRBuick56]

Haha, I agree, there were some pretty awful sounds coming out of those horns! :)

Actually I think he was impressed with the sounds... ^0^