God, I can’t get over how much I ADORE Sinnerman. I think the Mandarins finally found their stride as a world class corps, and it convinced me to consider auditioning for Mandarins. Insane writing all around, really impressed by them and can’t get over that Ballad!
I never paid much attention to Mandarins this year. I never got to see their show live. Only once in the theater. I'll have to watch again online somewhere.
Great to see Troop finding their stride these past three years. Nobody's putting out shows that are anything like what they're doing and I'm here for it.
As a Columbians member, I'm super honored on this list EMC! This season was absolutely monumental for us and I'm really glad you enjoyed our show!!! ROLL ON
To each their own, but I think Sinnerman may be my new favorite show all time. Simple concept, deep dark sound, intricate propwork, I just love it. Im so happy to see the Madarins on the other side of intermission for the first time in corps history. Only time will tell if they can top Tilt for me.
Same, as a kid I was a huge Christian, and my grandpa was a pastor at our church. I remember specifically one service where he called out greed and malice in the world, harkening back to his main bible verse “there is no peace, saith the lord, unto the wicked”. It stuck with me for my whole life, and then to hear it again in mandarins show was absolutely insane. Definitely the best show of the season, and all time for me
@@theunknowndrummer1209cool until you realize they were throwing shade at the Bible. There’s a reason the “bad guys” in the show we’re wearing white robes… and why “take me to church” was included…
@@sethburchill2631 they should throw shade at the Bible, it portrays god as a spiteful asshole who genocides anyone who doesn’t do EXACTLY what he says.
@@sethburchill2631no dude we weren’t throwing shade at the Bible at all. And the white absolutely wasn’t to say “bad guys”. The point of the show was to say that we are all sinners inside and we all end by just embracing it
@@sethburchill2631lol if anything the bluecoats were the ones throwing shade! the original garden of love poem is a criticism of the governing church body
I saw my first ever dci competition I think last saturday at a watch party, or maybe the saturday before that I can't remember. Anyway, as soon I saw the title of The Trooper's "To Lasso the Sun" I was immediately mesmerized. Even the titles of the songs sounded badass. I loved everything about the show. The costumes were awesome, I liked the funny lines they made, and the harmonica solo nearly had me in tears. The Troopers rock and I wish they placed higher. I really hope I can watch them in person one day.
This Troopers alum is loving all the Troop love you have been giving out the past few years! I can't wait to see what these amazing kids will do next year, I know they'll make me proud >"
The Open Class really did their thang this year! Huge props to The Columbians for not only getting 4th in their championship debut, but advancing to semis in the world class championship!
im very glad to see the mandarins so high. im a pretty softcore dci fan, so i didnt know much about them, but i saw them in annapolis and they were my favorite by far.
The troopers actually has a trilogy going, Voracious was about being blinded by greed which drove them crazy. To soothe that craze they yearn for something impossible like lassoing the sun, if you remember their southwestern show then you’d remember the white cowboy which I believe is an angel. That plays a huge part in the story next year.
The white uniform was actually a hint towards next year's uniform(or so I've heard), and they're actually making next year's show a continuation of "To Lasso The Sun", maybe finishing off a 2 part story line.(vorAcious was just a standalone show, nothing to do with To Lasso The Sun or next years) I am glad my brother was convinced to march there by a former band director(contra tech there and staff with Battalion), and has inspired me to learn trumpet and try out for the 25 season.
Blue Devils winning despite not winning brass or percussion is sad as those are the two most important captions to the actual technical part of the activity
I got to watch a Blue Stars Rehearsal live about a month ago and I cannot begin to describe how amazing it is to see the "behind the scenes" and how much effort that goes into all of these shows. All these people are putting their heart and soul into this to make it spectacular to watch, and it's great to see that!
@@hollowknightforssbu5628 I couldn't tell you an exact place, Somewhere in Wisconsin.. maybe illinois? was on July 3rd, got to see it because I'm also in a small tier Canadian drum corp that was down to do parades for the weekend, and our director set some stuff up so we could go watch them as a sort of "this is what you could be doing". It was definitely the coolest part of the whole trip even considering it was my first time to the States lol
@@JaySk8n that would be in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. I was a member this year and having people come watch us rehearse was one of my favorite things. Hope you enjoyed it!
This is my second year following DCI and this year was just as mindblowing for me as the last! My top 5: 5. Boston Crusaders 4. Troopers 3. Blue Devils 2. Mandarins 1. Bluecoats
I possibly would have had BLoo as number 1, but as an old guard marching band person AND ex-navy who did ceremonial unit stuff,. I found teh show design props, costumes, tarps, to be UNFORGIVABLE.. Get that shit over in BOA where it belongs.
Happy to hear your kind words about the Academy. I just taught my first season of drum corps there and I loved those students so much. I'm sure they will be glad to make your list.
You did a great job. I saw Academy at NightBEAT and it was the show that touched me most deeply. Nothing compares to the sprit with which those kids played, and it lifted me up out of my seat.
Cadets: My favorite show of the year, favorite ballad with the cornet solo. You explained the show theme better in one minute than I was able to figure out all season! Blue Devils: A likeable show deserving of #1 by anybody's standard. You placing them 9th is way too low. Boston Crusaders: The Whale won at finals! She skewered the surviving sailor which brought the house down. You missed it in your final video clip! Despite my placing you as the Best DCI Reviewer of the Year you must now walk the plank, metaphorically speaking for missing it so bad with Boston's ending. Maybe the whale will save you. 😎
BD had a brilliant executed clean show, but one that really bored a LOT OF PEOPLE. We know they can do artsy stuff.. let's see them pull a Mandarins for a change! I have great respect for their legacy but not for the cookie cutter show designs of the last decade - Felliniesque seems like the only time they actually broke the mod a bit.
@@ZakhadWOW BD definitely has a pocket with "artsy" shows, and I'd actually say that 15-17 were where they broke the mold. 12-14, 18-23 are all art-based shows, especially in visual art. I do hope they branch out a bit, their last truly narrative, character-driven show might have been 2013 (this claim is up for debate).
It made me so happy what you said about troopers my brother marched with them this year and it’s cool to hear people talk about how cool there show was.
Love how you put phantom in your top 5! A senior I marched with last year was in phantom and we’re super proud of her (: I think my top shows this year were White Whale and To Lasso the Sun. That harmonica solo just gave me chills.
and finsihing off the harmonica (with wonderful French Horn support for low notes) with a brilliant beyond belief trumpet solo.. it really was a tale of 2 halves.
I remember when the Blue Knights came to Pueblo West High School and they played their 2023 show for us. Too bad it was raining though, we couldn’t see that bass drum feature. It was really early in their show, but they still sounded really good.
What was even more amazing about the BAC's White Whale show, is they changed the ending for finals. At the end, the White Whale fights back and wins against the captain!
I’m glad the Seattle cascades made it onto the honorable mentions list , I got to work with them at a clinic and talk to the director, over 90% of the core are rookies that had no experience in DCI,I must say it’s impressive what they pulled off after a 4 year hiatus.
I mentioned this is the community post, but respectfully, the winners of the best ____ were L picks Crusaders shouldve won best guard Bluecoats shouldve won general effect The cavs winning best procession, thats a good pick Best visual was phantom Finally bluedevils scored wayyy too many points to justify how good their show was No hate just opinions (side note, i was in the friends of dci section at the 50 yard line for the prelims, semi, and finals)
Cheered in my living room when boston changed the ending so the whale wins (because screw whale-hunting). Troopers did have an awesome show design. I was lucky enough to catch them live at the Midwest premiere. Very good decision on their part to switch on the sun prop for only parts of the show. At the premiere, it was almost the whole time and it was v ervy distracting (amazing, but still distracting). Fav show was kind of a tie between bloo and phantom. Music for both sounded so amazing. Could lusten to Bloo's ballad all day, and Bump brings the house down. Come to think of it, I liked the same parts of phantom's show, lol. Great season. I've got to listen to in the non-dci-tour months. Can't wait till next year!
I actually interpreted Mandies’ show slightly differently! It wasn’t necessarily about “good vs evil,” even though that was obviously a part of it, but it was about finding, releasing and then embracing one’s true inner self, unbound by the restrictions of x, y, z (hence the cages). That’s why the white robes were relatively formless and “uninteresting” contrasting with the vibrant, “sexy” (for lack of a better term) red suits and fedoras. And the “sin” lies in rejecting whatever those so-called “norms” are supposed to be, and not necessarily just in terms of the Bible. And spinning inside the cages represents taking those boundaries and redefining them within one’s self. It’s a brilliantly thought-provoking show
I really don't get all the Blue Knights hate this year. It kinda feels like everyone saw us as a villain for PC and Crossmen. The only people I've seen excited about us getting back in finals were the 3 Troopers guys standing near me in the retreat tunnel
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!
A theater in my area was broadcasting the Livestream during band camp. Our director cancelled early and urged us to watch it if we wanted. I showed up in a suit and confused everyone.
This video is one of the very first to make the breakthrough realization that show quality is hinged on each show's concept. That's right!t The show's subject and theme have a symbiotic relationship to the music. Congratulations. Most drum corps participants are told not to think about the theme. They're told this by insecure, inexperienced designers who are often creating last minute collections of loose imagery without an ending. Designers don't want to discuss their concept for fear of being unmasked as incompetent, lazy and last-minute. The truth is that designers are not storyboarding. They're not consulting with other designers, writers or producers to maximize the show's impact, and to pick engaging, high-stakes visual imagery, props and dramatic action. Worst of all, many designers are creating shows without depth or lasting impact. The subjects and themes they're selecting lack higher purpose or social commentary or cultural relevance. When the audience sees a concept that makes sense, you can hear them scream. When the audience sees vague, scattered, non-linear, un-cohesive or nonsensical imagery without a progression of action, and without a clear ending, they disengage. When your show makes sense, is emotional and with higher thematic purpose, the score goes up and the audience members cheer. This is the new era of thematic depth. Designers must step up.
Were you able to get to see the bac and marines drumlines playing together early in the season last night. It was just a great treat and the young lady who was our section leader of the bac drumlines
So happy The Guardians got an honorable mention! Marched with them as one of the contras! This was the 10th anniversary of Guardians and the show was so much fun to perform! Definitely liked our music selection and the arrangements! Also so happy that the contras got to do a contra flip in our fourth movement 😁
The Whale LIVES!!! The Whale LIVES!!! EMC , you used the wrong performance for Boston Crusaders, because on Finals night, The Whale LIVES!!! The Whale LIVES!!! Check It Out.
RCR 2023 Guard member here, I was so happy to see we made honorable mentions! It really was a special show I feel honored to have been a part of, and I'm glad to know people enjoyed it!
I got to see Mandarins, Phantom, Crusaders, and Crown live at the Eastern Classic in Allentown and I was absolutely blown away by each and every corps, my favorite show this year was definitely the Mandarins.
Here early, but struggling with bad Internet... Will edit later ... I was holding my breath as you counted down your top 12! So pleased with your choices! I too loved showing the Mandarins sound guys during the prelims as I watched in the theater! 😂😂 it was added to the memes on the slack server.
