2024 DCI Week 2 Recap, Neighborhoods, & Championship Predictions 

Really like the way you are comparing shows based on the spread with Crossmen.

I love love love Phantom's music & love the opener & closer. However, much of the drill leaves me wanting more. Lots of park & bark as they trap themselves inside their prop cages. I see the mandarins passing them up eventually and maybe even SVC.

Man I had no clue this channel was so small. Great content!!

I have a Trooper bias, but I felt like at the Ogdon show, the Troopers were closer to SCV than SCV was to the mandarins. And actually, the Troopers show was much more entertaining. I AM curious about what' holding them back visually. I really like the Mandarins show, I think it's also one of the more entertaining shows again this year along with Phantom. I haven't liked the Blue Devil's style in some years, but I'm really enjoying their show this year. Their brass sound is so smooth it sounds almost pitch corrected, you never hear anyone out of balance or pitch. and their battery have really stepped it up this year. I'd LOVE to see the Scouts back in the top 12... I'd also be excited to see Spirt as well... but having seen one video of the X-Men.... they're really bringing it this year. Going to be a real battle, again, for 12th place. Also, I'm sorry you have to caveat every episode so people don't get offended that you're doing rankings. What a sad commentary on the state of our society today.

I cannot wait for the Texas area of the tour. The race between 1-4 and then the race for 12th is going to be a good one to watch

Solid rankings! I'm loving Madison scouts show. Which is why i was surprised you ranked them not in the 12th. I haven't seen crossmen show. Colts can really really march. Design is on point too.

I actually agree with the rankings, minus 12 to 15 just because that could wind up being a complete toss up as to who winds up getting 12th and making finals. One week, it could be Blue Knights back at 12th like last year, another week it could be Madison or Crossmen or SOA or even Pacific Crest, so I think to me that might wind up being the "most competitive" island come finals week.

Great episode!!

i, too, have a gut feeling about bluecoats this year!!

When the algorithm sends you a video and you get to see a former college buddy and fraternity from 20+ years ago! 🥳🥳🥳 -BrianFoley

The Mandarins had an off night in Ogden (maybe due to the altitude). Can't wait for San Antonio to see how the East Coast and West Coast do against each other. The huge increase in the scores given to Crown and Crusaders over 2 performances shows that East Coast judging is very generous.

Not sure about basing ranks on spread with another corps (Crossmen here). Did Crossmen give a better performance at one of the shows...which could effect the spread. Oh well, such is drum corps. I do agree with you ranking of #1. Guess we'll know more Tuesday night.

AH Daniel, I wish I had known you were in my own neighborhood ( pun intended) - I live in SLC. Would love to meet you in person and talk turkey, as a 62 year old band nerd (from Ogden High School no less, and marched in an early years DCI show in Edmonton in July 1977), with 8 years Military service, including 4 years in Italy working the flag detail as my normal duty rotation - and therefore get a bet touchy about all the abandonment of the military origins of the activity. I hope you had a nice stay, and enjoy Cheyenne/Fort Collins!

i think the troopers will actually end in the top 7 above SCV and cavies by the end of the season

Troopers percussion is on par with Mandarins brass. Mandarins have better guard and better GE a bit. Then you have PR.. they are bringing it. I want Boston to win the most having seen every BD show ever done they are super clean but the ballad still hasn't caught me with a ear worm it isn't catchy so I see what people always lament about.

Who’s Line is it Anyway, the show where everything’s made up an the points don’t matter

God I want scouts to crack top 12. I think Blue Stars drop out. IMO

I heard west coast judges scoring tends to run lower. Any truth to that?

The only two shows (that I've seen so far) that "move" me are Phantom and Boston. While I enjoy Bluecoats and Devils, imthey just don't do it for me. I'm a big Carolina Crown fan and hope they move the needle too.

DIV 3 baby!

Like a true corps person, you probably didn't like my comment on the last video about babbling, but you didn't strike back but instead seem to have made adjustments and got through the header much more efficiently this time cutting the intro from 7 minutes to 5. Noli tempus perdere, ne perdaris a tempore, literally, "do not squander time, lest you be squandered by time." Yes Mandarins won their first championship in 1987 at what was then called A-60, followed it up again in 1988, both times beating the Emerald Knights who were expected to win. These victories over EK set EK back quite a bit, as members especially key drumline members left for other corps in 1989, with members going to SCV (center or near center snare), Phantom Regiment (snare) and Star of Indiana (tenors). You can see how good this drumline was by searching for "dci 1988 part2" and going to 53:40. There is also some interesting I&E footage, and parade footage only a mother could love, hosted by an amped up Michael Cesario. Now I'm babbling. Anyway the Mandarins footage is utterly baffling, with 2 out of tune sopranos trading off. But they improved mightily and were an A-60 powerhouse, and could have been called the Blue Devils of A-60/Class A, placing no lower than 4th from 1987 to 2002, winning Div III when the name changed from A-60 to Div III 5 times including 4 in a row (that's right, Mandarins did on the small stage what BD's trying to do this year on the big one), and usually in the top 25 as well. 7 Championships in total, and this wasn't just a kiddie cadet corps, they were pound for pound as good as now. The information seems spot on and valuable. Seems a harder year to predict than last year, and I'm hoping the judges are NOT doing this intentionally as it would be wrong to short Blue Devils to make things more interesting. I like the island analogy, but still can only see 3 islands until Phantom Regiment breaks into it, the Galactic Class Island of BD, BAC, BC and Crown, the Middle Island of PR, Mandarins and SCV, and the Lower Island of Cavies, Colts, Troopers and...???? was Blue Stars. That island is getting bigger. But it is nice to see Madison doing better, as talking to a few of them last year they thought that was going to be a top 12 year, and even if they don't make it, they're probably going to be better than 16th at least.

is Blue Devils B going to finals this year

Can't disagree more about Colts. Marching is off, visuals are off and there is no integration of props into the show so other than the uniforms there is no GE.

earlyyyy