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Woochifer
09-06-2005, 02:00 PM
Terrence, topspeed, and deano have all talked on this topic before, so this is a program reminder for everyone! For the uninitiated, drum and bugle corps are basically like marching band, but taken to a higher level. The ESPN2 broadcast is the national championship final at Gillette Stadium where the top groups compete.

Tonight's broadcast on ESPN2 (7pm PDT, 10pm EDT) will be the first time that the DCI Championships have been broadcast nationally, and I must say it's quite a spectacle to behold. This is a tape delayed broadcast, so if you don't want any spoilers on who won, DON'T go to Drum Corps International's website, since the winner is splashed on the home page (I got spoiled when all I was checking for was the broadcast time!).

I went to a Drum Corps event earlier in the summer, and at that particular event, the Phantom Regiment was the standout group that played that evening. Local favorites, and multiple DCI championship winner, the Santa Clara Vanguard looked outclassed by the Regiment, which does an amazing Gershwin arrangement in their show. Will be interesting to see how they fare.

dean_martin
09-06-2005, 05:36 PM
Terrence, topspeed, and deano have all talked on this topic before, so this is a program reminder for everyone! For the uninitiated, drum and bugle corps are basically like marching band, but taken to a higher level. The ESPN2 broadcast is the national championship final at Gillette Stadium where the top groups compete.

Tonight's broadcast on ESPN2 (7pm PDT, 10pm EDT) will be the first time that the DCI Championships have been broadcast nationally, and I must say it's quite a spectacle to behold. This is a tape delayed broadcast, so if you don't want any spoilers on who won, DON'T go to Drum Corps International's website, since the winner is splashed on the home page (I got spoiled when all I was checking for was the broadcast time!).

I went to a Drum Corps event earlier in the summer, and at that particular event, the Phantom Regiment was the standout group that played that evening. Local favorites, and multiple DCI championship winner, the Santa Clara Vanguard looked outclassed by the Regiment, which does an amazing Gershwin arrangement in their show. Will be interesting to see how they fare.

Yep, we have our DISH recorder thing-a-ma-bob set to record it. Then all I have to do is figure out how to write it to dvd so my little drummer boy can share it with all his friends. We did see one show this year where the stand-out corps was the Cavaliers. I'm looking forward to seeing Phantom Regiment. We took my son to their snare drum camp in Rockford, IL last summer.

Woochifer
09-07-2005, 11:50 AM
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!





Maybe it's just me, but I just don't see how in the world The Cadets took the championship! Yes, they were pushing the envelope with their show, but a lot of their performance just struck me as overly theatrical and gimmicky. Getting the percussionists into acapella mode was original, but IMO there's a reason why other corps don't do that -- because it looks and sounds stupid! No question, they did some awesome stuff with the percussion, but the rest of their show did not strike me as anything special.

The Cavaliers looked precise and awesome with their choreography as usual, and just from watching on TV, I thought their playing on the brass instruments outdid what The Cadets were doing. The only weakness I thought was the amount of showtime spent doing the salute to baseball. It was a nice touch and very original, but it seemed to bog down the show and took way too long to get to the "punchline," which IMO did not make the finale especially strong.

Phantom Regiment seemed to be the crowd favorite, and IMO that was well justified. They might have lacked that last bit of precision and polish compared to the top two finishers, but their show just seemed to have the best sense of joy and inspiration among the groups that I saw on the telecast. Compared to when I saw them in July, the Regiment markedly improved upon an already outstanding program. Top to bottom, I thought they had the strongest program because of that great Gershwin arrangement and because they did not build too much of their show around extraneous theatrics. It was just a great show.

I could have also easily seen the Blue Devils winning the championship. The dance marathon theme made for a very energetic program, and I thought it was all very well done.

The coverage on ESPN2 didn't seem like much of a departure from the PBS telecasts of years past, except for the commercials, of course.

GMichael
09-07-2005, 11:54 AM
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!





Maybe it's just me, but I just don't see how in the world The Cadets took the championship! Yes, they were pushing the envelope with their show, but a lot of their performance just struck me as overly theatrical and gimmicky. Getting the percussionists into acapella mode was original, but IMO there's a reason why other corps don't do that -- because it looks and sounds stupid! No question, they did some awesome stuff with the percussion, but the rest of their show did not strike me as anything special.

The Cavaliers looked precise and awesome with their choreography as usual, and just from watching on TV, I thought their playing on the brass instruments outdid what The Cadets were doing. The only weakness I thought was the amount of showtime spent doing the salute to baseball. It was a nice touch and very original, but it seemed to bog down the show and took way too long to get to the "punchline," which IMO did not make the finale especially strong.

Phantom Regiment seemed to be the crowd favorite, and IMO that was well justified. They might have lacked that last bit of precision and polish compared to the top two finishers, but their show just seemed to have the best sense of joy and inspiration among the groups that I saw on the telecast. Compared to when I saw them in July, the Regiment markedly improved upon an already outstanding program. Top to bottom, I thought they had the strongest program because of that great Gershwin arrangement and because they did not build too much of their show around extraneous theatrics. It was just a great show.

I could have also easily seen the Blue Devils winning the championship. The dance marathon theme made for a very energetic program, and I thought it was all very well done.

The coverage on ESPN2 didn't seem like much of a departure from the PBS telecasts of years past, except for the commercials, of course.


Sometimes, or should I say, way too often, overly theatrical and gimmicky is what wins over quality. Not that they were bad. They were very good. But I agree that the Cavaliers looked great.

topspeed
09-07-2005, 01:02 PM
Thanks for the head's up Wooch.

See, you really are the most helpful member here :p

Sir Terrence the Terrible
09-08-2005, 12:04 PM
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!





Maybe it's just me, but I just don't see how in the world The Cadets took the championship! Yes, they were pushing the envelope with their show, but a lot of their performance just struck me as overly theatrical and gimmicky. Getting the percussionists into acapella mode was original, but IMO there's a reason why other corps don't do that -- because it looks and sounds stupid! No question, they did some awesome stuff with the percussion, but the rest of their show did not strike me as anything special.

The Cavaliers looked precise and awesome with their choreography as usual, and just from watching on TV, I thought their playing on the brass instruments outdid what The Cadets were doing. The only weakness I thought was the amount of showtime spent doing the salute to baseball. It was a nice touch and very original, but it seemed to bog down the show and took way too long to get to the "punchline," which IMO did not make the finale especially strong.

Phantom Regiment seemed to be the crowd favorite, and IMO that was well justified. They might have lacked that last bit of precision and polish compared to the top two finishers, but their show just seemed to have the best sense of joy and inspiration among the groups that I saw on the telecast. Compared to when I saw them in July, the Regiment markedly improved upon an already outstanding program. Top to bottom, I thought they had the strongest program because of that great Gershwin arrangement and because they did not build too much of their show around extraneous theatrics. It was just a great show.

I could have also easily seen the Blue Devils winning the championship. The dance marathon theme made for a very energetic program, and I thought it was all very well done.

The coverage on ESPN2 didn't seem like much of a departure from the PBS telecasts of years past, except for the commercials, of course.

Wooch,
I think it is widely agreed that the Cadet were given this one. While I do give them full credit for pushing the envelope, I also rate them as one of the corniest corps in DCI. Their show lacked the movement and drill of the Cavies, the soul of Phantom, and the cleanliness of the Blue Devils.

Just to be fair and impartial(I am a alumni of the Cavaliers, and a financial supporter) but the Cavaliers show baseball theme played too much to the Boston crowd. The game should have been between the White Sox and the Cubs, not the Red sox. We are talking about Chicago here!

Phantom was simply beautiful and inspirational. No gimmicks, just good show design and great arraingments. Hated the guards hats, but that is okay, the rest had me mesmerized.

I really hate Drum corps the way it is presented in the last three of four years. I guess because I marched for 7 years with the Cavaliers, learned 7 shows, did countless amounts of laundry on tour, saw food coaches, saw shows put together, and put quite a few shows together as a guard instructor, I didn't really care about the human interest side of the presentation. I wanted to see the shows that these kids worked so hard, and sacrificed to do. It was a two hour program were we saw 30 minutes of actual shows. The commericals were pretty good, but I just didn't care for the format.

Also, Drum corps as a whole is getting just a little to gimmicky for me. We the addition of none acoustical devices(amps) the amplified voice(stolen from BOA bands) all of the props, backdrops, and other assorted crap, it has taken away from the precision of the marching, and the attention to the music. Rather than just being entertained, we are forced to think about how all of the extra elements actually fit together to create the theme. The Cadets door, the confused dreamy girl, the ladders, the baseball game have all taken the place of great unison guard work, and clean precise marching.

Now if you really want to be entertained by Drum Corps, you need to go to a DCA show with all of the old pharts. No gimmicks, not many props or backdrops, just good old fashion brass playing, drumming, unison guard work, and good marching. Maybe not on the level of DCI, but more interesting to watch.

Woochifer
09-09-2005, 03:08 PM
Wooch,
I think it is widely agreed that the Cadet were given this one. While I do give them full credit for pushing the envelope, I also rate them as one of the corniest corps in DCI. Their show lacked the movement and drill of the Cavies, the soul of Phantom, and the cleanliness of the Blue Devils.

You're so right about this. Watching it again, The Cadets' show reminded me of an overrated art house flick. It might have enough tricks and traps to impress critics, but it ultimately fails to connect with the audience who might be more adept at sniffing out pretense than they get credit for.


Just to be fair and impartial(I am a alumni of the Cavaliers, and a financial supporter) but the Cavaliers show baseball theme played too much to the Boston crowd. The game should have been between the White Sox and the Cubs, not the Red sox. We are talking about Chicago here!

Phantom was simply beautiful and inspirational. No gimmicks, just good show design and great arraingments. Hated the guards hats, but that is okay, the rest had me mesmerized.

I thought the baseball theme was a great idea, but the timing just didn't work for me and it seemed to fizzle out the finale. Otherwise, the choreography and marches that the Cavaliers did were top notch as usual. I didn't think anyone else was close in those aspects.

Inspired ... that's really the best way to describe what Phantom Regiment's show was all about. The people in the crowd when I saw them earlier this summer were absolutely floored by their show, noting that Phantom was playing a jazz arrangement for the first time ever and that it seemed to really spark them. That was about as fine an arrangement of American In Paris as I've ever heard.


I really hate Drum corps the way it is presented in the last three of four years. I guess because I marched for 7 years with the Cavaliers, learned 7 shows, did countless amounts of laundry on tour, saw food coaches, saw shows put together, and put quite a few shows together as a guard instructor, I didn't really care about the human interest side of the presentation. I wanted to see the shows that these kids worked so hard, and sacrificed to do. It was a two hour program were we saw 30 minutes of actual shows. The commericals were pretty good, but I just didn't care for the format.

You're so right about that. I wish that the coverage could have been more like an actual live event, rather than some canned knockoff of NBC Olympic coverage. I did not like that the coverage joined the programs part way through, rather than from the very beginning -- not once did the coverage show the PA announcer asking whether the judges and the corps were ready.


Also, Drum corps as a whole is getting just a little to gimmicky for me. We the addition of none acoustical devices(amps) the amplified voice(stolen from BOA bands) all of the props, backdrops, and other assorted crap, it has taken away from the precision of the marching, and the attention to the music. Rather than just being entertained, we are forced to think about how all of the extra elements actually fit together to create the theme. The Cadets door, the confused dreamy girl, the ladders, the baseball game have all taken the place of great unison guard work, and clean precise marching.

Now if you really want to be entertained by Drum Corps, you need to go to a DCA show with all of the old pharts. No gimmicks, not many props or backdrops, just good old fashion brass playing, drumming, unison guard work, and good marching. Maybe not on the level of DCI, but more interesting to watch.

That really too bad about how props and high theatrical aspirations have now taken over. This whole nonsense of trying to create a "theme" just seems like artistic pretense for its own sake, rather than good entertainment, or even good music and good marching for that matter. I remember when the Velvet Knights did all their prop antics in the early-90s, it seemed more in the name of entertainment and fit the mood of the music they picked out and the satire they tried to convey. I mean, comparing the VK's 1992 show where they had a "fat lady" opera singer getting eaten by a giant shark at the end of "Hungarian Rhapsody" to whatever that door in The Cadets' show was supposed to signify, there's no question as to which show I'd rather watch. (BTW, I read somewhere that earlier in the year, DCI was screening some highlight show with the all-time fan favorites at Regal Theaters, and the VK's 1992 show made the all-time list, even though that performance didn't even place in the top 5 for that year and none of the other performances that placed higher from that year made the all-time list)

I'll definitely have to look into DCA because it seems to fit more with what I like to watch.