Cadetsnare Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 (edited) The show was chock full of difficulty, demand, GE, outstanding arrangements and musicianship, well written and performed visuals, and an outstanding colorguard. Brass and percussion were spot on and nobody had a chance of touching them that year, they were on another level. The "made for tv" drama of Cadets vs Blue Devils never materialized as they handily wiped the floor with them at each meeting. Then by the end of the season, they were increasing the spread over the Cavaliers and it was inevitable. ~G~ HUH?? Wiped the floor? Cadets actually won percussion performance at finals (regardless of who actually got the trophy...Cadets won percussion that night, just like in 88) and was second in brass and visual performance by a tenth. BD lost colorguard and was 3rd in ensemble music. Hardly a trouncing, but yes, a win, fair and square. BD had a great show, but to say they wiped the floor with everyone is a bit of an overstatement. I won in 1990, and although we beat the 2nd place Cavaliers by 8 tenths at finals, I wouldn't consider it a slam dunk by any measure...they were d**n good, and am honored I got to share a field with them that night! Back to our regularly scheduled thread.... 1991 was underhyped.....it was a great year for BDs brass...they get a bad rap that year for their unusually low 9th place percussion score, but the brass was SCORCHING that year!! 1990 was underhyped...especially percussion. They tied for 1st in brass in quarters, and were 2nd in brass in prelims. They honestly should have won drums that night instead of us....GOD, were they good! They got dumped in percussion all finals week, and on finals night got hammered in ensemble percussion...6th, IIRC. A great percussion section in a really neat show, IMO. Edited March 12, 2007 by Cadetsnare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared_mello Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Fair enough, you're always entitled to your opinion. That's one of my favorite shows as it turns out. But that is regardless of the point - I had taken your comment to mean that the show itself couldn't hold up today, which with today's judging I'm not sure any show from anyone in the past (5yrs or more) could hold up, new demands are being asked. Anywho...moving along. I'd highly disagree with that last point you made. Watch the top corps from 2000, 1997....pretty much any of those years. Music then > music now If the Cavaliers can win titles and succeed in visual captions with their technique, I'm convinced that corps from the '90's could be successful in modern times too. Maybe people would notice that they tend to use slower tempos than modern corps for the most part, but I would definitely say that there's no sacrifice in the artistry or competitive ability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George82 Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 As far as overhyped, my vote goes to 2004 (1988 is a close 2nd). My vote for underhyped goes to 1991. Love Bela & Bird in B Flat (Adventures in Time left me a bit less than impressed however). Coming in a very close 2nd for me is 1985. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow Adam Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 I'd highly disagree with that last point you made. Watch the top corps from 2000, 1997....pretty much any of those years. Music then > music now Agree 100%. I used to be a huge BD fan, but I haven't like their music as of late (post 2000). When I heard about Godfather last year my first though was "but, the Godfather theme is longer than 16 counts, and BD doesn't play phrases longer than 16 counts." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scadesboi Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 (edited) I'd highly disagree with that last point you made. Watch the top corps from 2000, 1997....pretty much any of those years. Music then > music now If the Cavaliers can win titles and succeed in visual captions with their technique, I'm convinced that corps from the '90's could be successful in modern times too. Maybe people would notice that they tend to use slower tempos than modern corps for the most part, but I would definitely say that there's no sacrifice in the artistry or competitive ability. Hmm, let me give a thought to that. (seriously, not being a jerk) I may have to change my mind, you make a good argument. Thinking about the music, you are absolutely correct in that in the '90s it was much better (in my opinion) and definitely more entertaining. My main thought is what judges are looking for in a hornline, and from a show in general in these last few years - it seems to be much less about the actual music and more about, well, body movement and what does the judge SEE, not what they HEAR...maybe that's just my twisted take. It sorta seems like the activity may have gone into the...asking for something filled with little GE things and visually appealing bits instead of the meat and potatoes of yesteryear. I've heard the music from the 90s era, and I've seen the music from this era, and today's seems much easier in my humble opinion. I think this may have something to do with trying to get the show itself across and trying to make a clean show instead of a technically difficult/exciting show like we used to see. Now, I'm probably wrong in some respect there and you can feel free to debate me, I'm just throwing out an idea. However, I'm still not sure that the shows from that era could be "competitive" with today's judging sheet. Are they good? HECK YES, GREAT EVEN! But the idea behind them and the way the shows past/present are made are different I believe - aiming at a different style of judging. So that would make me believe they would not be as competitive on the modern-day field. It's not about an individual section or "who's better" I think, it's just that it was a different time and a different kind of show. That make any sense? Haha, and I do get what you say about "If the Cavaliers can win titles and succeed in visual captions with their technique" but I'll keep that to myself. :P (and btw everyone, these are my own ideas and have no affiliation with any corps) [edit was for a grammar mistake, sure there are more...oh well] Edited March 12, 2007 by scadesboi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagicBobert Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Underhyped? I agree with '96 and especially '00. I kind of agree with '05, because while I didn't care for the show concept I really enjoyed the music. Overhyped? Can't think of any at the moment. ...BD doesn't play phrases longer than 16 counts. Mmmmk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOOHOO Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Overhyped (If there is such a thing with BD): 2003 Underhyped: 1993 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcn8 Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Over Hyped – 1994. When I look back I think that they were a very talented corp. It just seems to me that this show is lacking the championship swagger. Wow... like some others, I have to disagree. In fact, I couldn't disagree more -- this is not only one of my favorite BD shows, it is also one of my favorite shows of all time. The corps exuded confidence. Over hyped -- 2006 Under hyped (Tie) –- 1995 (great show, but not a great performance on finals night) and 1996 (great show that sometimes gets overlooked because of PR, which was also a great show) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 HUH??Wiped the floor? Cadets actually won percussion performance at finals (regardless of who actually got the trophy...Cadets won percussion that night, just like in 88) and was second in brass and visual performance by a tenth. BD lost colorguard and was 3rd in ensemble music. Hardly a trouncing, but yes, a win, fair and square. BD had a great show, but to say they wiped the floor with everyone is a bit of an overstatement. How many times did Cadets meet Blue Devils in 94 ?? Who won each time ?? Yes, the Blue Devils wiped the floor with them. They went undefeated, they were untouchable. ~G~ ps: And I do believe you guys lost to both Star of Indiana (3rd) and SCV(6th) The week before finals in 90, right ?? Hardly the factors to make the same case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvertrombone Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 (edited) Disagree about '94--BD and top 6. BD was phenomenal (envy, SMurphy--envy!). I'll never forget their standstill victory performance at Ypsilanti. If the stadium hasn't been rebuilt since, I wouldn't recommend going on the home side! I really enjoyed when we didn't have retreat so I could go hear their encores--even though I wanted to beat the snot out of them! Hornline--wow! And '94 was a pretty decent year considering Star was gone and hornlines weren't dancing yet. Maybe I wouldn't use the words, "wiped the floor with them" to describe anybody that year. But nobody ever really challenged them in any show if I recall. Can't really argue with that! 90's brass was awesome in general DCI-wide--much better music at least. BD specifically was incredible for a long period and '94 pretty much encapsulated the decade for them. Forgot about the new uni's--BOY those were cool looking! Really new, really bad, Really Blue!! I like Tommy, personally--1990. Don't know that it deserved more, but I like it. Gotta agree about '06, and I'm a PR guy. PR tied b/c nobody had ever seen such a clean performance...but they came from how far back Finals night??? 4th? 3rd? Maybe in '06, but '96? GREAT show, but I've never been able to help thinking that maybe Devils just didn't bring their A-game finals night. Any of you who marched tell us how finals vs. semis went for the corps?? Overhyped? Geez, is there one? First thing I thought about BD 06 was, "Hollywood? Devils are playing Hollywood?" That would be like Phantom Regiment doing "The Matrix." Performed well, good show, etc. But "Hollywood??" Give us some blast my face off jazz again. Ironic that I liked their "Broadway" offering, huh? Edited March 13, 2007 by silvertrombone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.