1982 Legacy DVD

[shawn craig]

I took advantage of DCI's buy 2 get one free sale and bought 79, the year I marched; 82, and 96.

I decided it would be better to focus on one year at a time.

I actually saw all these shows at the time, DCI North both prelims and finals.

82, in my opinion, was a great year for a variety of reasons. Solid performances from the top down, lots of creativity. I think it's one of those years where a lot of change took place. You can really see what was coming the rest of the decade in these shows: alternate guard equipment, dance and coreography, asymetrical drill. I know most of those things were done in the late 70's but done in a much bigger way here. Also the beginning of the pit in a bigger way then the previous 3 years when it was sorta hinted at. I think it's the first time I remember seeing true concert quality percussion in a few cases instead of marching timps and mallets grounded with stands.

I'll just make mostly breif comments and you can all add your memories and opinions.

Cavie sand Spirit: This must be among of the strongest 11th and 12th place corps. Cavies opening drill was very innovative for the day and played the "Pines of Rome" very well. Spirit always great horn line.

Sky Ryders: RIFLES! Love the 3 rifle trick- rifle line with two each and the contras spinning a third one between the legs of the rifle line. FUN show!

Freelancers: What a beatiful smooth and solid show. Although not prominant on the video also a great rifle line and guard. I remember being at the DCI North show when the curved flags were pre-set wrong and 4 guard didn't have them to spin.

Crossmen: Entire guard handled both a rifle and flag at the same time!

Madison: Some great gaurd tricks. Perhaps they were a little more old school in regards to show design (along with Sky Ryders) than the other corps.

Bridgemen: I actually both the 79 and 82 shows better than the 80 show.

27th: Classic 27th. Was this one of their better hornlines? I thought they sounded solid.

Phaontom: Drill was still very symetrical but very creative story telling. Lots of unique guard equipment and perhaps the first use of a "costume" by the entire guard instead of a more traditional uniform. Such great music played very well!

Garfield: Really pushing the asymetrical drill! Did I see a hint or precurser to the 83 Z pull near the end of the show?

SCV: Asymetrical drill and great visual effects by the guard: hoops, small hand flags etc. Also noticed some of the fun antics with the bass drum and horn soloist; also perhaps a hint of body movement that was to come.

Blue Devils: Great horn line. Great guard. Was this the first year the guard wore the more jazz/pop style uniform instead of the military style? I can't quite remember about that. They used the butterfly wings with just 8 girls. Unique things to spin etc.

I thought the horn lines all sounded great. There are some years (96) where some lines have obvious tuning and tone issues all the way through the show. But I didn't notice major problems through out any one show in 82.

The top 4 guards really did coreography all the way through. Yes the previous years it was done some, but this seemed like the first time I noticed it throughout shows as part of guard work the we think of it today instead of a little "add in."

I think anyone who says Star 93 changed the activity really needs to watch the 82 DVD. I always enjoyed Star and maybe they pushed quality, but when you see what was done in 82 you can't really say they did anything new.

[byline]

Blue Devils: Great horn line. Great guard. Was this the first year the guard wore the more jazz/pop style uniform instead of the military style?

No, they were first introduced the year before, in 1981. As much as I enjoyed BD's '82 guard, I liked '81 even more because as I recall, they used rifles in that show, and I don't think they did in '82. But maybe I need to revisit that DVD to make sure. Still, they did indeed having a mind-blowing show in '82, and I just went nuts over them in Evansville! That's probably my favorite Blue Devils show.

[shawn craig]

No, they were first introduced the year before, in 1981. As much as I enjoyed BD's '82 guard, I liked '81 even more because as I recall, they used rifles in that show, and I don't think they did in '82. But maybe I need to revisit that DVD to make sure. Still, they did indeed having a mind-blowing show in '82, and I just went nuts over them in Evansville! That's probably my favorite Blue Devils show.

Actually I think Garfiled was the only top 4 corps to use rifles that year.

As much as I like the fact that guards tried other types of equipment in the 80's, I don't like that it meant rifles weren't used.

I also couldn't remember everything from 81 (and no DVD yet) so I know some things I memtioned might have been done more that year than I remember.

[GMichael1230]

1982 is still to me the best year ever for drum corps, all around. Competition was solid, not only for the top three, the top six, and the top twelve, but there were quality battles for the top 17 and good corps didnt even make the top twenty five.

1982, Blue Devils colorguard, that year, were in a class by themselves in both performance and design-wise. The second year for those uniforms, and the second year for alot of the equipment too. Spider web sticks, streamer sticks, and who could forget those beautiful, stunning wings in "Pegasus" reason enough alone to win high guard.

Garfield Cadets beat everyone that year, except for the Blue Devils. What was shocking was the quality and presence the entire corps had and the drastic change from 81 to 82. They were for real, and the buzz all year was Garfield.....

Phantom Regiment was again a legitimate contender, refining their "Spartacus" offering and stepping up the entire program over 1981. Solid, flawless drill moves, patterns, and transitions set the stage for the corps and guard to tell the story.

SCV and Scouts solid as usual. SCV the only real competition fod BD to worry about, and the one to beat for second place, and a solid Scouts with a non-stop rifle line.

The big story of the night was the little corps that could...and did. Starting the year just a few points ahead of Norht Star and Defenders and way behind the rest of the Eastern pack, and corps like Cavaliers...the 27th Lancers turned it on and vy finals week had gone from an 8th lace rank to seventh place over the Bridglen/Freelancers and catching the stunned Crossmen by finals night.

Everything fell into place at the right time and it was indeed one of their greater brasslines and solid as usual drum line , but what stood out was the performance of the guard, by finals..almost flawless.

Skyryders vaulted into finals at tenth, winning DCS that year over Spirit and a surpsing Suncoast Sound, who almost made the big dance due to a lackluster Cavalier performance.

I'll stop there since the thread is about the legact dvd, but if you get the opportunity, you need to revisit the corps that didnt make the cut......simply outstanding.

~G~

[Periphery]

For me, personally, and for very personal reasons, 1981 and 1982 will always be the best years for DCI. Also in my opinion, 1979, 1980, 1983 and 1984 were right up there. These were the years when the activity was first really becoming mainstream entertainment for truly large television audiences, but when the activity still retained so much of its underground mystique and appeal (which has totally disappeared). It was still drum and bugle corps, where the instruments required special training and knowledge to play properly, did not play a fully chromatic scale, and required highly specialized arrangers that really knew the horns inside and out. It was when the activity was still focused on the music and the fact that a show was a visual representation of that music.

Later we all had to cope with the idea of ditching our beloved bugles for G pitched band instruments that could play a complete chromatic scale and show design that became so overly obsessed with the visual aspect that the musical arrangements became hacked up, nearly unrecognizable exercises in tempo changes. And then we switched to Bb/F horns and became marching bands that lacked woodwinds, amps and singers. Now we only need the flutes, clarinets and saxophones to complete our transmogrification into units that can sell any type of musical product to band directors anywhere. Yea for YEA.

Oh, am I sounding backwards-looking and bitter? #### right I am.

The musical books of 1981 were the most interesting to me, with 1982 and 1983 being next. I loved the music (and the quality of the performances) so much that I had to purchase the cassettes three times because I kept wearing them out! CDs are great.

Oh, yeah . . . I think that 1982 was the last year that you could get away with recording local shows with your own tape deck. Remember those days, folks? I have lots of homemade corps tapes from the early 1980's that are excellent and that I will finally get onto CD sometime this Spring. Does anyone here remember those Winter and Spring issues of DCW and DCN where the anti recording rules were discussed over and over? That was a really big stink. I agree with the rule and have always abided by it since that time. But I still managed to get some great recordings of clinics by the 1983 Blue Devils. (GREAT SNARE LINE!! Underrated to the 1982 snare line IMHO. I have some judges tapes from both years and the '83 line was just a little better, again, IMO. And the stick work was more controlled in the up strokes in that line as well. Slow down your tapes and look at it carefully. I also liked the entire BD battery more in 1983 as well but that could have been the book they played.)

I am rambling. I am sorry for that. It is just that this topic got me thinking about my favorites when I had usually tried to avoid such blanket categorizations as "favorite seasons" and such. I really do love them all.

Again, sorry.

Edited January 4, 2007 by Periphery

[Guardguy89]

The '82 Blue Devils did use rifles, as did Garfield - and they were good (never understood why they got rid of them in '83).

And I agree - '82 was a great year.

Later,

Mike

[uncle z]

I took advantage of DCI's buy 2 get one free sale and bought 79, the year I marched; 82, and 96.

Cavies opening drill was very innovative for the day and played the "Pines of Rome" very well.

I got some good face time in '82.......I'm the mallet player to the far left.

[Guardguy89]

'82 is also the year that I fell in love with the Cavaliers. I think I bought every single piece of Cavalier merchandise that year. And finally ended up marching there 6 years later :)

Later,

Mike

[uncle z]

'82 is also the year that I fell in love with the Cavaliers. I think I bought every single piece of Cavalier merchandise that year. And finally ended up marching there 6 years later :)

Later,

Mike

Then you and I are BOTH on this one:

[Guardguy89]

I guess we are! I'll have to buy it!

I'm easy to spot - I'm the short rifle in '88 and '89 :P

Later,

Mike