I've been around the activity for almost 40 years and can't remember a year where I truly enjoyed as many shows as I did this year. Thanks to the Funliner guys for all the content this year!
I haven’t been around for a long time, my first show was in 2015, but this was my favorite season in that span. There were a ton of shows that I really enjoyed this year.
I loved this year as well. I think all brought their A game to the prelims and was impressed with how they all showed so much improvement in the span of 6 weeks or so.
@@just__dave Phantom 96' was just unbelievably clean that year. They deserved that tie. BD show was good but come finals night the show is a tiny bit sloppier than a clean Shostakovich performance.
if average score used.. nobody has the underdogs chance.. you become the marching equivalent of the college football ranking system.. so my question let's say a 4th or 5th place group makes a tweek change or two after Allentown that really makes a big impact that puts them above and they don't do it til semifinals.. like a poker player move where timing would matter and the whole group decides as a unit their not going down without a fight and when it happens it bumps their ge score etc.. but now those things couldn't exist with averaging scores so it takes the surprise organic element off the table.. which is why as an oldhead I firmly would be against averaging anything.. each performance should stand on its own.. dont get me started on props and uniforms geez..
Nobody is talking about how the Bluecoats peaked on finals night for second place! With a fantastic and memorable show, a ballad that brought tears to people's eyes, the most playing while moving, brass that beat BD in achievement, and creativity that pushes the envelope, they are a stand-out that deserves more attention and credit.
The problem for me is not that the Blue Devils win each year. It's that I can't discern WHY they win. They attain perfection but don't speak to my soul, and that's the only measure I have as an audience member.
looking at the scores now its mainly because of how big of an effect that ge has on the overall.if it wasn't that way then they wouldn't win as much. I'm not the best person to talk about ge because my experience is all in front ensemble but I don't disagree that they had a lot of good visual stuff going on. Though personally I only loved their ballad.The shows that really spoke to me were from bac and troopers. I love bac a lot but I think they peaked a bit before finals week and ge wise it looked like they started adding whatever thoughts they had because they were really pushing for the caption.I'm heavily rooting for them to get a title soon tho.
Exactly this. It’s the ambiguity of their dominance that frustrates me, specifically the visual component. I absolutely understand their dominance in music, you can very easily get that by watching them. It’s the visual component that bothers me. How do they dominate it every year? Why is their content always so high? People say they design better, what ways are their designs better? What does it mean that they move better than the Coats and Crown? What are they doing that’s different and creates that gap? I thought Bloo had a pretty intense visual program this year. BD apparently had a much harder one. I would like to know why.
Spend some time reading the sheets and it will make more sense. The variety and achievement is only currently rivaled by Bloo. This isn’t marching band anymore. The others have got to step out of the box (boston, crown, cadets)
@@SWilla00946I feel the opposite. I think Crown usually sounds head and toes better than BD (I get the style difference but I prefer Crowns balance) but BD just moves impeccably. Whenever I'd marched I'd watch their feet and movement from the field and it's really something special.
While I am just a little tired of blue devils winning, they had a really awesome show this year and deserved it. Also wanted to say thank you for making this channel. I’ve never really had anyone in my life who cares about this stuff like I do and watching this channel has helped eliminate that feeling so thank you guys:)
The cheers for their show compared to other shows such as PR, BC, BAC, and CC were so quiet. I couldnt watch their show because it bored me so much the only part i liked was their ballad
Can’t we come to an agreement that new rules should be enacted that would allow the reigning champs to only perform as an exhibition and be ineligible for scoring until the next year.
My son is in his h.s. senior marching season. He's a trumpet in marching and a drummer recreationally. We were also in the lot for finals night and I can't remember the last time I saw him cry but, he definitely did while watching the crown warmups.
By your comments here, he and I seem so alike. The number of times I have stayed up late at night listening to Crown and getting major chills is too many to count Haha.
honestly, while i didn’t enjoy the blue devils show apart from the intro, jojo theme, and the soloist parts during the ballad, i do believe they deserved that win. they were honestly so incredibly clean all season, and i believe they have also had the most talented corps members we’ve seen in a hot minute. it’s disappointing that they have finals in a chokehold, but as you said, i’m hoping to see another corps take the cake next year
I for one do think that BD being so dominant is hurting the activity. It might not look like it now, but if they go another season or two undefeated (which seems to be the default now) Interest will wane, or BD will become vilified to a point that is unbearable for the activity. After watching a lot of high cam this year, I think I can better point to why BD irks me so much. Its their approach to visual. While the criticism of not moving is not as true in modern day, they still use very little form to form drill. I think during the movie-cast, Rodno and Lindsay Vento used the word "strategic" in the way they move, and that is the best word I heard. Its hard to really change how to play a brass instrument, or play a drum or even use a flag/rifle/sabre, but BD is using what feels like a different rule set for visual and the judges reward it WAY too much.
But that’s the activity and if other corps haven’t caught on they won’t win. And if one them do win to “help” DCI it will be considered subjective and ultimately it will do more damage. Crown, BAC, Bloo, hopefully SCV etc need to step up and bring a different look the way BD did some years ago.
@@coolwiz7994 So you want to eliminate the drill writer from the activity? BD is not pushing the activity forward, they are changing one of the fundamental aspects of the activity. Its like they awarded by the brass judges for marching only woodwinds. Its not an evolution, its a redefinition.
It is only “destroying” the sport cause you don’t like watching them win. Your own subjectivity against BD and all others like you is what could destroy the sport. GET OVER IT AND GET ON THE ASSES OF THE OTHER CORPS TO DO BETTER!! I mean my God is it that hard. BD has been beaten. Since their win in 2003 20 years ago they have been beaten 8 times. And now they’ve found a niche that other corps haven’t. Cavaliers did that once. Garfield cadets dominated the early and mid 80’s cause of that. Crown dominates brass being loud. SCV dominated perc by being in your face. Oh but wait we celebrate that but when BD dominates the visual package and GE, God forbid. Your argument and point is old. You should leave as a fan. Pathetic.
One thing that might help with the perception of some fans is to either legitimize or "professionalize" the fan favorite award. In other words, they already do an interactive poll through FloMarching. This year, Phantom won in a landslide, and there were over 7,000 votes. Why not take that and make a legitimate award out of it and present it to the winning corps at retreat on finals night? Perhaps if that's done then more fans will feel like they have a chance to make their opinions matter.
I literally had the same idea watching this video! I completely agree, they should make a fan favorite caption and a huge poll over championship week and reveal the winner on finals night!
TL:DR BD doesn’t touch me at all compared to other corps, and both musically and visually, but it caters down to personal preferences. As much as I was upset BD won, I can’t even deny that their show was deserving of an overall win, their show was undeniably clean, but it wasn’t all that interesting apart from pure performance. The thing that upsets me with BD is that I honestly find their shows unappealing (bear with me I’m fairly new to this, I really started following this discipline last season). An it pains me to say that cause the one show that pulled me into this was 2017’s Metamorph (that made me discover the discipline a couple months before the 2022 season started). BD is exceptionally clean in their execution, I’ve seen that in past shows, but it’s all I find interesting in it. It’s like BD has a formula, and they execute it every year (as most corps do most likely), but their isn’t any innovation to that formula (at least since 2017 imo). Where both Crown and Boston tell stories, where Bluecoats pushes us to watch their shows while on shrooms (honestly that must some some experience), BD just execute a formula that leaves no taste. The one show that had an effect on me besides Metamorph was The Beat my Heart Skipped. Scv 2018 left me mouth agape during the ballad and the closer, Crown made me cry times and times again, same goes for Boston both last year and this year, but BD is just there executing their stuff without much of anything (at least imo) Edit cause I have to add, BD’s guard is on steroids, they are insane year after year. In no way I am saying that they and the whole corp is bad, they’re all insane lads, and that goes for everyone in every corps, both in open class and world championship
Well then there are probably, in fact I know there are many people that will say to you "I guess we can agree to disagree you have an opinion like everybody else. And it's just one out of millions"
I've been a crown and bluecoats fan since I was first introduced to DCI in 2016 but being there in person on finals night you could immediately tell the Blue Devils were just a cut above the rest. Even disregarding their incredibly clean music and visuals they just had an energy in their performance that no other corps that night matched.
@@michaelmoon622 I agree. I liked the show, they looked and sounded phenomenal, but it just felt like they were running through the motions. It's a feeling I know all too well having been there many times myself. Although that could just all be in my head and could have actually been very different on the field.
The community should immediately move for a change in the rules that would allow the reigning champions to only perform as an exhibition during the following season.
@@qwertop7719 some of it might be that the corps known for its brass doesnt take advantage of having the best brass like, why do they use so many sound cues rather than having a brass moment? why are there only short section features rather than full brass ensemble moments? the stuff from the 2010s that made so many crown fans fall in love just arent present anymore
Let's talk about sportsman like conduct. Don't stick your tongue out after you retrieve an award you just earned....especially while representing the organization. People might take that the wrong way. Refer back to winning best guard. Of course this video was edited so you don't see the lack of professionalism in that moment....
I want to see SCV come out next year and have a PHENOMENAL year. My personal favorite drum corp show all time( I’m a life long Blue Devil) is 1989 SCV production of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!
The Cavaliers definitely benefited from SCV not competing this year. Boston and Bluecoats were incredible this year too, I was honestly expecting closer scores in percussion. I thought the absolute coolest story was mandarins!! Big things coming from them in the coming years for sure
As much as BD are excellent & clean in execution, I do find their use of props somewhat overboard (Bloo as well). Looks more like Broadway than drum corps. They also seem to often park & blow during the difficult notes & then move during the ensemble/percussion breaks. Most of all, it's their high scoring GE which only the judges know why they are high. But of course, their high scores across the board win them the championship year after year.
The Blue Devils winning for the past 3 years has gotten me more into drum corps in a way. It made me research why are they so consistent in winning which helped me see the activity in a different way as I am really into judging and I want to do concert band judging in the future. But also it forced me to look at other corps in which now I really want to audition for the Troopers versus if BD didn’t win for 3 years in a row, I would of been blinded to just watching the top 5 corps instead of exploring out.
What tends to bother me is that finals week has become so predictable. Averaging scores per caption of all three nights to know who the champion is going to be by the awards ceremony. When a corps goes in from other championship and regional shows they already have an idea whats going to happen by the time they get to Indy with the exception of the 10th-14th place corps. What also needs to be looked into is the inflated scores from the start of the season as a catalyst of who's going to be the front leader of the season, which turns out not to be a competition later on. Although judging is difficult, starting a top corps at a high 77-79+ at the first show (while its sloppy) then by finals they are getting 98-99 it puts every corps in a non competitive edge for places 1-4, while 5 and below will try to battle it out. IMO, DCI is more of an exciting exhibition now due to the lack of excitement of attainable competition.
You should do a video on how it was to be BD's drum major and some things that would surprise us and things we probably would not know. I appreciate your channel, honesty, and opinions. Thanks for sharing. It gives us and insight to something we would not have otherwise. Keep up the good work.
Regardless of scores this season was incredibly fun, rewarding, and challenging to be a part of. I aged out at Blue Knights this year and to be there on finals night along side some of my lifelong friends, both in BK and other groups, was a dream come true. My opinions on the scores don't matter and I will always support all of my DCI family, regardless of what corps you're in or what placement. DCI IS BACK BABY
Blue Devils have a formula and it works. I don't particularly enjoy their shows, but they do put in a lot of work and the results show that. Boston, Crown, and Bluecoats all had better productions in my opinion.
Everett you should go in and find out what the BD win record is since 2007 at all shows with another medalist in attendance. It would be interesting to not see the finals win loss record but overall consistency. Check out winning streaks over those medalist meetups too. I feel like when you throw in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2019, even though we won in 15 and 19 the win loss over regular season wouldn’t be as high as people think
I was lucky enough to see BD and Mandarins live twice! Both incredible shows which are not really fully captured in videos. I absolutely loved BD’s show from the beginning! It was loud and exciting and the ballad was stunning in person. Personally I thought BD’s guard definitely deserved achievement but I thought content belonged to Crown or Boston cause they were spinning their asses off!! But BD’s ensemble weapon moments were quite amazing so maybe that was something that the judges recognized for content. Beautiful season overall and I’m so happy to have drum corps back in full force!
I would actually argue that the average overall scores points less to Crown's consistency (absolutely something worth considering) and more to BC's ceiling being just a bit higher this season. Crown only outscored BC in Prelims, coming in 3rd for Semis and Finals. I think the biggest takeaway there is that the gap on Prelims night was just greater than the gap the other 2 nights, hence why Crown averaged out to 2nd.
Fun fact, the blue devils show was basically a life story of matisse which was an artist who made “the cutouts” a lot of people say that the blue devils have no story but it only seems like that because they’re not using an audio track to say the story, you have to dig deep in the show to understand. Matisse lost his ability in his hands and he learned to cut paper, hence THE CUTOUTS
People always forget that, at the end of the day, performance quality is what wins. High scores in music and visual results in higher GE as well. BD simply performs at another level, regardless of the quality of their show design, and that’s why they win.
❤❤❤❤❤ As Someone who used to watch DCI summer music games on PBS every Thanksgiving I REALLYYYYY APPRECIATE THIS CHANNEL. For someone who works at Disney, NFL, NBA and Sports Entertainment, I have always loved BD. To me it's all about artistic expression and how well your team execute that. It's not really about the what you do as opposed to the how. BD It's doing some really difficult things And it looks so easy because they do it so well It's like sports to me, the greatest athletes and signing artist are amazing because they make their talent look so easy. I wish Crown had got 2nd over bloo because they got robbed last season. After watching Boston show live in Boston i told my friends this aint top 3. The whale idea wasnt organic n seemed forced
I really like Bluecoats but I felt Carolina Crown should have been 2nd place this year. The 2nd GE-1 judge really slammed them (4th) when the other GE judges had them 1 or 2. Between that and the visual proficiency score it seemed Carolina had some tough judges on Finals night. It can happen. I don't want to say the judges are wrong, but I do disagree with their scores. All that said Bluecoats know how to push to the end. I did not care for the concept of the show but they always make it fun and engaging for the audience. Boston was fantastic as well! The top 4 were predicted by most before the season started. We all knew those would be the 4 most experienced corps with excellent design and instruction teams. Blue Devils winning was no surprise to me. They had one of my favorite shows and they continue to be masters of body, movement, visual design and creating a variety of GE moments. I was glad their guard won this year. They were amazing! I understand people's frustrations with BD winnning so often, but the activity needs a corps like Blue Devils who continue to master design, technique, individual responsibility and performance like no other corps. It's good for the activity. It gives the other corps something to shoot for. I am not saying copy BD's formula or their style or the types of shows they do, but learn from how they approach body, technqiue, staging, and how they build their shows through a variety of musical styles coming from many genres, and how they weave that into a visual package. It is a complex formula for sure and it is fun to watch. Congrats, Blue Devils!!! Also Congrats to Bluecoats, Carolina, and Boston!!! Not one of those shows dissapointed. All 4 corps were amazing. I think the best part of the season was watching the Cadets, Mandarins, and Phantom Regiment shows. All had fantastic shows and those 3 corps seemed to be within tenths of each other most of the season. The sound of The Cadets began to resemble those older Garfield corps of past. Great music book. Mandarins were thrilling with a great visual and GE package. Phantom Regiment was classic Phantom. The sound, the style, the guard...it was all there. Cavaliers really made a push near the end. When I saw the show live I enjoyed it much more than on Flo (as one would expect). Their percussion was the REAL DEAL! Just incredible. But there were many other great moments in their show. Perhaps a little overwritten in a few areas musically and finding the right balance between that music and visual was what held them back some. Colts and Troopers were amazing this year. Loved both shows. Did not see them passing Blue Stars. That surprised me but I think the BS show just lost some push near the end. Members did their job and performed extremely well. BK was great with solid visual program despite the fact that I did not get into the music as much. I enjoyed Pacific Crest and Spirit much more from a musical perspective...but I can see why Blue Knights got into the top 12. Great job with your channel and it was a great season.
I feel like we can lowkey blame phantom for BDs dominance. BD was undefeated in 08 til finals night and since then they’ve had 6 undefeated seasons and have simply outperformed whatever show they were in close contest with that season even if it wasn’t for gold (crown 15 16, BC 18 19)
I love seeing the blue Devils win. I am a blue Devils fan but I do think their shows have been absolutely amazing. I will say I am ready to see the rise of phantom regiment. I have really enjoyed their style 2014 was a really good show. I really hope to see Phantom back on top.
I would love to see a video on how the blue devils are this successful. I know you talked about them in a recent video, but I would love to hear the differences between them and every other corps. This type of success has never been seen in any type of activity or sport before and I wanna the reason behind it. Is it design staff, instructional staff, or the members or everyone? They have clearly solved the puzzle since 1975 and I wanna know what other corps would need to do to attain the level of success that they have. I know it might be a bit a of a hard video to take without the haters crawling out of the woodwork but I feel like you all might have some insight on why they are so different and more successful than everyone else.
I didn't like your channel at first, but you've really grown on me. Thank you for all you do for DCI. You guys make it fun. My daughter has marched the past 3 years in Crown playing mello. She has absolutely loved the experience. I thought this years show was amazing. The music was well written and they executed it on such a high level. You're right, it is art and all of the corps should be celebrated and enjoyed. My daughter has aged out and will miss it terribly. She's back to school already and is focusing on her senior year at UNT. Blessings to you.
Well I said the Cavies Drumline was #1 before San Antonio so they just proved it from then on through Atlanta through Allentown and all three nights from Prelims to Semi-Finals to Finals. As Mike Fantini of Aged out Podcast says: CLEAN WINS EVERYTIME!!! Congrats to the Cavies!
The problem is not just having an amazing show. I think top corps losing members to BD also adds another challenge they face. I love seeing all the numbers in this video 🙌🤩.
As I said before that's because they have unfair recruiting practices just like some of the big big huge universities when it comes to football. Other colleges can't compete with Ohio State's football program because they used to give high school students brand new cars Obviously DCI does not do that but believe me they are comforts in the blue Devils drum corps that you don't get in other course which don't have as much money
I just recently graduated out of high school in Oklahoma and dedicated 6 years of my life to band, but marching band has always stuck out to me and has been my favorite. As most 6A Oklahoma high school band programs would know, Broken Arrow has always been the top dog that everyone is trying to beat and they’ve been dominant for so many years (marching band wise). Yeah it gets super old and annoying at times when they win at 6A state contest every year but at the end of the day we all tried our best and put our whole hearts into our performances and our programs so if you really think about it at the end of the day everyone is just a person whose trying their best to see success in their program. Yeah you’ll be sad that you didn’t place as high as you think you should’ve but that’s the beauty of marching band, there’s no winners or losers, just kids doing what they enjoy and love.
Noooo. What you speak of is WAY different than DCI. The top 12 of DCI are significantly closer together in terms of how well they can actually play, how good of show design they have, etc, compared to the bands at OBA. Broken Arrow is in a completely different league. They have been for the last 25 years for a reason. It is not tiring to see BA win OBA every year, when they are miles ahead of everyone else in every single way
I honestly think that BD is incredible and incredibly clean in just about everything. However, I do agree with people that at least the feel of their shows are so similar to one another and they do a lot to jumping in and out of focus and "hide" for lack of better phrasing for a lot of their shows. Other cores tend to be very risky and bring completely different feels and styles most years. I just want to see another corps like Crown or the Cavies to be on top again
I think overall when you sit down and watch a Blue devils show, you get a sense of familiarity, that almost seems a little too resonant with previous year. BD 2018 was the first year I felt Like I was watching a new show from BD that I really liked. When looking at other corps, you kind of see a drastic change from year to year. Compare crown from last year,from 2019, 2018,2017 etc, the show seems drastically different year to year. Same with The Boston crusader show from this year to last year and 2018 and 2019. I think that's what makes the activity so much fun is by being excited for What a corp will put out on the field, The creativity behind the activity, you can expect something completely new. I'm not bashing the Blue devils, I'm just stating how some people feel, how I feel.
I feel like a lot of people's sentiment around the Blue Devils' dominance would shift, as it did for me, once you actually hear them live. The difference in person is night and day, and you gain such a massive appreciation across all of the corps when you can literally feel the power of the horns in your chest. Regardless of if you think BD's show design is getting stale, in person they are an entertainment powerhouse and deserve all of the credit they get.
You're on a top list of some of the best takes on what this activity is and how things go down! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 To many speak with their emotions first and not logic! It is PERFECTLY fine to have your opinion and favorites...but some things people say do go a lil to far sometimes!
As a DCI and college football fan, you can see some parallels developing. BD similar to Alabama/SEC dominance and fans tiring of it. Some fans looking to create more parity in terms of funding and talent acquisition. It’s interesting.
Boston put me in a serious trance during the San Antonio show it was the most focused, and emotional thing I’ve ever experienced but as much as I’ve been rooting for Boston both 22 and 23 year, Mandarins really also had a huge huge impact this year. They came out with a production I never expected. I was lucky to watch mandies live twice in the Texas tour but as a Boston fan I really have to give credit for the mandarins for best show this year. I really believe 6th place was crazy for that good of a show. Props to the cadets as well but I firmly believe mandarins should’ve been in the top 5 this year no doubt.
The thing is: the Cavaliers this year I think should've been in first place. And I don't even think the Blue Devils should've been in the top five. Don't tell me there isn't prejudiced and biased within the judges ranks because there is I marched in the Blue Stars so I am well aware of the politics involved in DCI It's statistically an impossible probability to win 20+ years of championships in less than 40 years. I know countless years when the blue Devils show was subpar. This year the Cavaliers should've won, as they say, the "gold medal" And one thing about the finals this year, the Cavaliers had the best percussion. You can't win top percussion and then place as low as they did. That's ridiculous! That was political. The Cavaliers uniforms were classy they were traditional and they walked onto that field with pride and dignity and integrity! In fact I was shocked and I marched in the Blue Stars and I love my drum corps dearly but I was shocked when I saw their uniforms and I thought I was looking at the Cavaliers!!!!! LMAO PLUS, THE BLUE DEVILS HAVE UNFAIR RECRUITING PRACTICES WHICH SHOULD BE SANCTIONED. Ohio State had unfair recruiting practices in their football program. They got caught BUT UNLIKE THE BLUE DEVILS THEY WERE PENALIZED FOR IT! I've set my speech I expressed my monologue it won't do you any good to argue with me because I know too much about how DCI works. I'm not saying it's corrupt what I'm saying is that judges are heavily influenced by their own prejudices.
Maybe I am a little bit old fashioned and seasoned, I found that this season (like several past seasons) continue to have excessive props, used of mics, electrics and voices. For some maybe its shows that the competition is evolving, but for old school like me I still loves drills and heavy rounded sound of music. For example, my fav shows of BD are As Time Goes By, Winged Victory and The Phenomenon of Cool. Best drills, less prop and good music. The theme also easy to digest and understandable. But hey, this is not an expert opinion, just from a dci fan who enjoy watching dci since 2002😅
And nobody get me wrong… I am marched in the La Crosse Blue Stars And when I saw them march on the field with green on RU-vid I was shocked to see them wearing green and I actually thought it was the Cavaliers! I mean that's going to far should I start calling them the Green Stars?! Yes, as an alumnus, I had a problem with my own drum corps wearing green when they're called. The BLUE STARS... HELLO?!
Crown should have won it. BlueDevils & BlueCoats did not impress me. They had two much stuff on the field which took away from the formation made on the field. I also believe the judges have a bias towards the BlueDevils.
Blue devils I understand why they keep winning. Their guard is always on point and In sync and their brass is absolutely stunning I love their impact and screamer however they lack creativity which is why I love blue coats so much. Also I feel like troopers got underscored way too much their show was amazing.
I have been a Blue Devils fan since I was in 6th grade, way back in 1978-79! They are from Concord, and I grew up in Benicia, CA, just a few miles away. Great to see them 3-Peat! I think the Blue Coats had a fantastic show that was colorful and entertaining but the BD was just a little better! Great to see the Mandarins in the top 6! Really missed SCV this year, hope to see them back soon.
I would like to hear you about the scoring system. As an exemple, when someone drop a riffle or a sword, do they really lose points? Some final scores are so close from each other, it seems a bit arbitrary from my point of view. Judges prefer one to the other. To be frank… BD seems to have a soft sport in many judges heart.
BD executes like nobody else; always impressive. Like others, I'm just not moved by their show concepts. Additionally, i just don't like their music arrangements. Crown's show this year was apparently allergic to melody. But most years i absolutely love crown's music, even if their overall design is hit and miss. Their Inferno made me a dci fan; i love that show so intensely. Saw it in person at finals, and was utterly amazed. Im a bluecoats fan--shocker!--but ive gradually sorted out that i love them because they take odd pieces of music, arrange them in loveky ways, and design shows around them in original and creative ways. They've introduced me to so much of the music i listen to on a daily basis. I no longer begrudge bd of their wins; they usually outperform everyone and deserve the wins. Their shows just arent for me. Im content to root for bloo and crown and phantom and see if they can clean one of their shows well enough to win. My one curiosity is this: I've assumed for a while that great marchers have switched to bd in order to win a medal. Ultimately, i now dont think that's happening any more in bd's favor than any of the other top corps. But has anyone looked into this trend overall? Are BAC, crown, bloo, and bd going to remain dominant because marchers trade up? Or is it just not that big of a factor?
BD had objectively the most complete show and execution. If other corps want to win they need to match BD. It's that simple. I mean what the hell was that BC show this year...
A cool fun fact: at the only cavaliers in person camp, they made it very clear throughout the audition process that they intended to win a Sanford. They did just that.
I found the BD score in finals, 98.9+, to be a bit much, given the number of drops I saw, even from the nosebleed seats. I’m no DCI judge, but given what I could pick up from 15 rows short of the top of the stadium, I don’t see justification for that high of a score. There also doesn’t seem to be a way to reward difficulty in programs with DCI judging either. Lots of slower paced marching and flat-out standing still by BD compared to other groups. Bloo were spread out over a great expanse of the field, playing in time together, sections playing simultaneously in different meters, and movement by most of the corps for the entire 15 minutes. One baritone member commented that the longest time she was ever NOT moving was the final chord. If every corps slowed down and did just the minimum to check off boxes like BD, they could probably challenge them score-wise. But there ought to be a bonus for those that perform a more challenging program done well and push the innovation. Even audience members seemed non-plussed by the BD program.
So I posted this on your video on the Blue Devils from a few weeks back, but I’ll copy and paste here in case you missed it: So I’m gonna specifically say that I think that the Blue Devils’ past wins are all justified, they’re amazing and always will be amazing. However, this my opinion, but I disagree with this year’s win just a few days ago. I actually think the amount of time spent moving and playing was substantially low this year for them. On top of that, outside of the first 3 minutes or so, their color guard, marching, and music this year was less complex than some other corps this year, namely Boston and Crown. Very choreography heavy instead. What I will say is that, no question, their execution was still top notch. However is there something to be said about doing something easier which allows them to execute it better, versus attempting something harder and not quite reaching the same level of execution, however minute that difference is? Take my opinion for what it is, and remember I’m only talking about this year’s show.
Yeah thanks for sharing your thoughts! If you felt that the Blue Devils show was easier and therefore easier for the members to execute then that’s your opinion. I personally would say that the difficulty of BDs show was probably one of the hardest out of all the shows this year. So it may just be a difference of opinion, but I think generally, the Blue Devils tend to execute their design so well that it “looks” easy when it really is not.
@@funlinerproductions7071 could very well be true, I only marched highschool, never DCI, so I’m not an expert, it just seemed like most of their fast movements were more of a run instead of a march. Whether the judges care about that I couldn’t really say
I have always been perplexed at the high GE scores the Blue Devils get. I totally get their high Visual and Music scores, but the GE scores are still a head scratcher for me. Maybe I'm just not educated enough to know what constitutes a good GE score.
The Blue Devils do what they do really well... but their shows are trending towards blah. They're exciting because they're performed so well, and there are moments... Personally BD had my least favorite show in the top 12. They seem to be continuing the tradition of less marching. I'd be interested on your analysis of what they did this year. With the amount of props on the field they had very little space to spread the field and it seemed like most of the actual marching they did was in a confined space in the center of the field. If you can just run to your spot and then do free-form dancing for a minute of the show in a block, that opens up time to polish other parts of the show - which they do very well. This is my impression anyway.
BD is the best organization in DCI. If you want to know why they are so consistently great, just look at their staff. Very little turnover from year to year and the magic bullet is Scott Chandler. I don’t see anyone ever being more creative than him and the GE scores show it. Next, the kids. Yes, they are kids, so stop complaining about them being so great. Most of these kids have grown up in the BD system and their performance shows. It is on the rest of DCI to raise their levels. To beat the best, you have to be the best. I marched Cadets in 1987. Yes, I’m old, but BD has always impressed me.
I'm tired of your opinion and everybody else like me and you're way off base in my opinion.. buddy But we can agree to disagree Many years that they won they certainly weren't the best and their shows were mediocre. There were much better shows out there from other drum corps on years that they won first place
The issue with BD being so dominant is the money gap will keep getting wider, and while the spread of talent is clear, there has to be an issue with top players all gunning to be in the consistently top corps for so long. This also filters down to staff - and lets be clear here - SCV not being a thing more than likely led to Mandarins success, so I feel like this proves spreading out talented educators and players is a huge boon for other corps. Fixes? Has to come down to how shows are judged, a better way to spread more money to all organizations, and maybe it wont just be an aberration when they are not 1st.
I responded to another comment saying that while it does suck as a fan to see top talent from other corps leaving for the blue devils every year. There isn’t anything that can or should be done about it cause they pay to be a member of a corps. maybe they can incentivize members by having lower tuition for members who march for 2+ seasons at one corps. But for whatever reason it is they still have the right to go to whichever corp they want if they have what it takes to be one of the 154 members contracted and able to afford it
I think pragmatically, there is no solution, but imagine if you liked basketball and the team with the most money just slurped up all the top players and won or were in the finals for 20 years straight? It would devastate the sport. Luckily, DCI while a competition is also just a great way to grow musically and have a great summer, so in this instance the erosion is not as dramatic, but I think the point stands and DCI as an or should find a way to rectify it.@@madprogamer4076
Mandarin's director came over from SCV like 7 years ago. Not sure where all the SCV went from last year but the Mandarins only had 1 SCV alum. Mandarins success this year is likely due to the show being a crowd favorite vs the traditional marching show.
I have a feeling that next season BD will really switch up a lot of their style and show design. Yes they have won so much with the current type of show, but the members will get tired of it eventually.
i marched Cavaliers from 2000-2004, and they said the same thing about us. But i think that if you want to beat who's on top, then let's see what you got. Congrats to BD, they deserved it. And they were always the coolest to hang out with after shows lol!
I think it’s time that they amend the rules so that the prior year’s champions only perform as an exhibition during championships. This way we can avoid and endless cycle of Blue Devils monopoly.
Hey Everett, I think it would be interesting for you guys to look at one of the mid-range scoring corps and explain why the higher ranking corps do better. For example, what could Mandarins do differently to continue their improvement? Or what happened to Phantom Regiment? How important is the show concept? Do shows with clear story arcs score better than ones that are harder to “get”? Is more complicated music always better, e.g., is it better to have complicated music performed averagely or simpler music performed perfectly? Those are just a few questions that might a) take the focus off Blue Devils for a minute and b) educate followers who don’t have a hardcore corps background. Thanks!
BD was spectacular on Finals, and there’s a reason why they’re one of the corps that got me into DCI. My one hot take is did they really 3-peat this year? And I get it…2020 and 2021 weren’t judged seasons, so in that way, BD remained the reigning champ. That also means BD won the last three competitive seasons. Still, does it matter that those seasons weren’t consecutive? If it takes a group five calendar years to win three seasons, global pandemic notwithstanding, that doesn’t seem like a 3-peat in the truest sense of the term. Either way, the season was incredible and all the groups did a fantastic job on Finals night
As, far as the caption awards I agree with all of them except GE and guard. Me personally, I felt Boston Crusaders should have taken both of those captions. I didn't understand the BD show visually until I saw a RU-vid behind the scene video on the artist. By that time, the show was over my head and well pass me. I also felt underwhelmed that Bluecoats didn't do a visual closer change that they've done in the past few seasons. I felt the Garden of Love show needed something more visually in it. Also, I wish Crown would have put a few more crown sets (even if it was a pass thru set) in thru out their show. I would have played how many crowns can crown put in Camelot. My favorite show was the Mandrains, my least favorite was the Cadets. I just didn't like the gym bro approach to telling Greek Mythology with the uniforms.
I don’t hate the blue devils and I think that them winning is for a reason. They perform better than everyone else. But I don’t think they have many great shows that speak to my but that’s just my opinion. What I do hate is when people “meat ride” blue devils and almost just say “oh blue devils are just better than everyone else. All other corps aren’t as good as them” that’s incredibly disrespectful to the corps that put in just as much worn into their show as the devs.
I hate that the blue devils continue to win while seemingly only winning with brute force and talent. Don’t get me wrong, they are insanely talented and clean, their shows have just been lacking creativity the last few years, especially since metamorph. While the straight ability and hard work is extremely admirable and very important in scoring, I think there needs to be a part of general effect set aside to a storyline or at least a common theme. There was none to find at all this year for the blue devils while a lot of other corps had not necessarily super clear, but definitely identifiable themes. That’s is my only dislike for the blue devils.
I watched every show I could live or in person. I have to say this year, I saw more members smiling and genuinely having a blast! As a music educator and DCI alumni myself, I found each show completely different from the past. Did they repeat some past hornline licks? Yes. There is nothing wrong with that. But the corps this year were having fun. It's always wonderful to see these traditions continue. Now my one complaint about this season, seems that a lot of the corps this season didn't highlight the mellos as much. Yes, Crown had there signature mello lick and some corps had mello runs up to high C, D, E...... But all in all, the mello sections didn't get a lot of spotlights. That being said, these corps are outstanding. Even if they didn't get past prelims, each corps did and outstanding job. It makes me happy that these people will be our newest music educators. music has a bright future!
I was at DCI Eastern Classic Allentown both nights and every drum corps show is great to watch. The execution level increase from slot to slot is amazing.
As for other corps coming out and dominating, I want that, but I also want it to be sustained. I don't want just one or two years here and there where BD isn't the overwhelming favorite to win. I'd love to see things progress to the point that, in any given year, 3 or 4 corps have a realistic chance of winning. Some amount of unpredictability would be great to see, and I hope we're able to get there.
I do like that they only count scores for the final performance, because the last show should be the true representation of the final product, some corps have weaker starts than at the end of their show, but end up drastically improving their shows later in the season, it would be awesome to have a secondary reward for average score, so long as it doesn’t overshadow the actual finals performance award
i could have told you the top three the judges would pick before the season started. Boston had the most entertaining overall show and their scores showed it and omg surprise. a week later at finals they are jumped over. get rid of this judging system
You guys do a great job on your podcast! Even though I think there’s to much emphasis placed on scores and placement. The activity should first and foremost be about shear entertainment and the value of every corps performance. I appreciate your expertise in the activity. Keep up the good work and please offer your comments and reviews of the lower placing corps. Thanks
