DCI 2024

[Dave609]

as of right now, I could see them place in the top 3 if they keep it up right! Also, their closer is probably one of my favorites of all time, close to SCV 1989!

[packwick]

yeah, ppl in my orbit are gushing about it. prob a good thing. we'll see, obviously SOMETHING needs to really awaken me this season LOL.

[packwick]

yep yep, can confirm, bloo has kicked it up a notch this year. first full goosebumps of the season w/ that build into the ballad. it's a visual feast too. richly layered and appealingly sculpted, w/o losing control. so much going on at once but very few lapses in balance, logic, and clarity, pretty much only during the more chaotic parts, which is intentional. grips you right away and doesn't let up. beginning, middle, and end all have wow moments, couched in that strange Bloo ether. it's not the most earth shatteringly creative thing but there's more than enough wit. feels like the culmination of lessons learned from Tilt and Kinetic Noise + some woodlands 2016 thrown in there w/ the platforms. easy top 2 this year, maybe 1st.

[packwick]

devs are excellent. buuuuut i don't think this show is as strong as the past 2 yrs. then again i also don't really remember what those ones looked like in June lol. guard is killing it for sure, tho lots of samey toss-turn-catch phrases. i like the easy-going, 80s movie soundtrack feel of the ballad but it doesn't quite reach the peaks of their last two ballads.

def would give effect to the bluecoats right now. a more coherent, seamless product for now. better mise-en-scene as well, more balanced and less cluttered looking.

[Liam Allen]

Alrighty, I have witnessed live drum corps; Boston, Crown, Phantom being the big three that I have seen.  That being said, I will proceed to make possibly the worst prediction for the top 12 ever.

12. Spirit of Atlanta - I’ve seen footage.  It’s disturbingly good.

11. Blue Stars - seen it live; good enough but it didn’t feel like enough to get them anywhere this season.

10. Colts - saw it live; once it cleans up it’s going to be dangerous.  The trumpet soloist in the field of crosses section needs to figure out his life.

9. Cavaliers - Saw it live.  At the home show no less, and the crowd reaction was depressing(but it was that way all night, just more so for Cavies I suspect because they had to follow Regiment Crusaders and Crown).  I think that they will make enough changes throughout the season that they’ll keep above the Colts surge, but percussion scores don’t look like they’re going to be saving them this year, especially with Vanguard and the Rennicks back in the mix.

8. Troopers - I’ve seen footage.  This sucker is the real deal.  It’s dirty, but this is going to be the best show they’ve ever done hands down.  I can’t wait to see this thing.  They’re going to pass Cavaliers.  That’s the kind of vehicle they’ve got.

7. Santa Clara Vanguard - They’re going to get shot in the face in visual analysis, and we’re already seeing that play out.  Mandarins will start to pass them in GE as well once they start to clean up.  That said, I really like the show, and I think it’s going to be a favorite for some older fans who hate props.  The uniforms were the fatal mistake in their visual package.  I think that they seem to be on the top of the pack for the Sanford.

6. Mandarins - maintaining their spot from last year is going to be easy.  However, I think that the hype surrounding them is just slightly overstated, and they’ll peak a tad too early.  Love the show, though.  That’s going to be a theme here.

5. Phantom Regiment - what can I say, I’m a huge Phan.  I’ve seen it live, and this show is a monster like I have never seen.  The mellophones at the end are a force of nature.  You can feel the sound.  It managed to hype up the Lisle crowd, which is saying something(crowd was dead all night).  This thing has legs, and they’ve already teased a San Antonio surprise that I can’t wait to see.  Never been more excited to go to the Dome.

4. Boston Crusaders - I’ve seen it live, and it is sooo much better live than on Flo.  However, barring some kind of natural disaster destroying Crown’s horns, they aren’t going to be able to overcome God’s Hornline.

3. Carolina Crown - Saw it live and immediately ran to their souvenir booth and spent $125.  Once this show gets going later into the season, it is going to be incredible.  The opening hit is comparable to being hit in the face with a freight train.  Their big weakness is their drill.  It sucks.  The scores in visual analysis being as low as they are reflect this.  They win performance, but they can’t win outright because their drill is absolutely meaningless and frankly stuck in 2013.  The first two minutes of this show are absolutely brilliant in all captions.  They need to make the rest of it reflect that.  They are going to win the Ott again.

2. Blue Devils - I don’t think this show has it.  I don’t understand it on an intellectual level, and I watched the Scott Chandler video explaining every aspect of the show on an intellectual level.  The reason that I am evaluating it on an intellectual level is because that’s what Devils demand from their shows.  It simply does not work.  The music is schizophrenic to the point of not flowing at all(see the transition out of Pokémon, or the lack of one).  The cabinet props don’t have anything to do with ‘the Romantics’, and they don’t add anything to the show visually.  They are just space-filling eyesores to me.  The merry-go-round horses make enough sense(Hisaishi piece that gets butchered for a completely out of left field reference to Frankenstein), but ultimately they just serve as depositories for the capes.  The capes are left behind and forgotten, and I believe that in addition to “adding drama” they also have the added benefit of muddying the visual portion of the first four minutes of the show, which is where most of the actual drill happens.  The use of the painting at the end is too late to have any real impact on the show.  All in all, the show is, ironically enough, a Frankenstein’s monster of vague intellectual ideas and references to the Romantic era that adds up to a massive nothingness.  Execution alone will net Devils the silver simply because they, and apparently DCI judge sheets, will never allow themselves to be any lower.

1. Bluecoats - On first read, this show is out there.  I didn’t like it at all.  Having watched it a few more times, the level of performance alone is enough to net them the gold.  The fact that the show will evolve, as all Bloo shows do, into an incredible vehicle over the course of the season to deliver their concept is the end of the discussion for me.  This is the show that can do the unthinkable: beat the Devils.  I think they can unseat what has been an unbeatable BD death grip on the visual caption, and GE to boot.  I suspect that it will slowly gain momentum as it progresses, but they will ultimately be able to hear their name and gold medal in the same sentence on Finals night for the first time in eight years.

I wish that I could say that Crown will get the gold, but I am unfortunately a realist as well as a Crown fan.  I do, however, think that this will be a VERY competitive top 4; more competitive than it’s ever been.  5-7 will also be a deathmatch.  The bottom of the top 12 is also going to be a deathmatch.  This year, I’m seeing the highest quality of shows across the board that I’ve ever seen, and I like Crown and Boston enough that I wish we could just put Devils in fourth and have a three way tie for first.  But that will never happen.  This is going to be one of the best if not the best season ever across the board, and no matter who wins at least we’ll all be very sufficiently entertained until the BD five peat next year.

[packwick]

im a big devils fan, have accurately predicted their wins and the size of the scoring margins (prior to first meetup scores being rendered) for many years now, buuuut the fact that Scott needs to explain these shows in detail via YT is NOT a good thing. show, don't tell. i don't come away from the videos thinking, oh how brilliant! i come away thinking, wow, this is a muddy melange of half-baked ideas. doesn't always matter tho bc the devils' best shows have such great aesthetic and emotional peaks (w/ amazing performance qualities), so the confused theming doesn't always get in the way.

dunno. sometimes it feels a lil tiny bit like the metaphor in the Texas Sharpshooter logical fallacy, where the guy paints a target around a bunch of random shots and cries, bullseye!

[packwick]

the results from later today could be informative. think bluecoats have content on lock among the big 3, esp visually. traditionally the biggest things holding them back have been execution and creating those truly huge moments musically, partially bc their favored style of music is so minimalist and fragmented. thiiink they're doing a better job on both fronts early season this yr. seem more confident. but i could still see Crown and BAC score wins in performance captions and overall energy/excitement. will be nice to see them all in the same venue, once the vids leak on YouTube lol.

[LeanderMomma]

Gotta say, the corps I most excited about at this point are Bluecoats (they had me at Son Lux), the Phantom Regiment (definitely have the best uniforms and the fan adoration factor) and the Troopers (definitely the best Troopers yet).  I may change my mind though the season but these are the current shows I’m DYING to see live in San Antonio.

My honorable mentions are the Boston Crayons, Blue Romantics and the New Orleandarins. 😍😍😍

Edit: AND CAROLINA CROWN TOO!  How could I forget how much I love their show!!

[Rubisco]

  On 7/2/2024 at 9:33 AM, packwick said:

im a big devils fan, have accurately predicted their wins and the size of the scoring margins (prior to first meetup scores being rendered) for many years now, buuuut the fact that Scott needs to explain these shows in detail via YT is NOT a good thing. show, don't tell. i don't come away from the videos thinking, oh how brilliant! i come away thinking, wow, this is a muddy melange of half-baked ideas. doesn't always matter tho bc the devils' best shows have such great aesthetic and emotional peaks (w/ amazing performance qualities), so the confused theming doesn't always get in the way.

dunno. sometimes it feels a lil tiny bit like the metaphor in the Texas Sharpshooter logical fallacy, where the guy paints a target around a bunch of random shots and cries, bullseye!

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Coincidentally, my personal favorite Blue Devils show, Cabaret Voltaire, is the one that allowed them to be random and disjointed without it bugging me. 😅 Besides the coherence stuff, I wish they would turn away from doing shows about artists or art movements and give us something truly left-field. Regarding this year's production, I think the show ends really strongly, but I'm not as sold on the rest of it. (It should be noted that I hate capes with a passion, so pretty much the entire first part makes me scream on the inside. 😃) Of course, since they're the Blue Devils, I might be holding them to a higher standard overall. The performers are marvelous, as always. And it still has its moments.

Is there a high cam of Bluecoats on YouTube yet? I'm playing catch-up. They're outstanding on multicam, but that's not an ideal view for predictions.

Boston and Crown were great, about what you'd expect. Boston's crayola costuming is making my eyes a little 🤪 but I like it. I think this is a stronger overall visual program compared to last year. Crown's brass section is amazing, per usual. A little bit of a slow burn at the start, but it gets there.

I really like the Beethoven parts in Phantom as well. It gives you something to latch onto, which is a bit rarer these days.

[packwick]

there was a high cam of Bloo around the day of the event. buuut got removed fast. lame! only had like 300 views. can't find it anymore. might be delulu as the kids says, but think upstairs vis will be in Bloo's favor this season. at least compositionally it was fab.

[packwick]

judges nailed the placements tonite. full agreement. ofc there were only 4 corps, so...

happy to see Boston improve. ofc it's the beginning of the season and scores were close, so they might not hold onto it.

think Bloo should have been closer to a full point ahead, mostly through effect, notwithstanding the sloppy trumpet soloists, weird audio balancing, and dirt in the last 2 mvmnts. judges were a little conservative w/ the gaps in GE. a minor quibble. we'll see what the double panels think. that's when s*** gets real. LOL

doesn't look like there's gonna be another one of these matchups for a couple weeks. bummer.

[Dave609]

I'm going to love this season! Whoever ends up winning it all will not effect me one bit because all of these groups are doing amazing!

[Rubisco]

The scores were so close! Regarding gold medalist contenders, I don't think anyone has been booted off of the island yet.

[Sideswiperr]

  On 7/3/2024 at 4:53 AM, packwick said:

judges nailed the placements tonite. full agreement. ofc there were only 4 corps, so...

happy to see Boston improve. ofc it's the beginning of the season and scores were close, so they might not hold onto it.

think Bloo should have been closer to a full point ahead, mostly through effect, notwithstanding the sloppy trumpet soloists, weird audio balancing, and dirt in the last 2 mvmnts. judges were a little conservative w/ the gaps in GE. a minor quibble. we'll see what the double panels think. that's when s*** gets real. LOL

doesn't look like there's gonna be another one of these matchups for a couple weeks. bummer.

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I just love the way you word things 

[packwick]

  On 7/4/2024 at 3:29 PM, Sideswiperr said:

I just love the way you word things 

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thaaanks! even if u might have meant it sarcastically LOL

[Sideswiperr]

  On 7/4/2024 at 8:27 PM, packwick said:

thaaanks! even if u might have meant it sarcastically LOL

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Trust I didn’t 😂

[Tubalord11]

Can’t wait to be going to Denton! Great lineup, super excited to see some of the top groups in person, was lucky enough to get a good seat. Might go to McKinney as well so me that’s right down the street. 

[Dave609]

Do any of ya'll think Carolina Crown will hit the 80's in scores tonight? Blue Devils already have, so I'm curious to see how it will play out tonight. Also noticed that The Mandarins passed Santa Clara Vanguard in scores as well. If we were to base the scores as of now, here is how it stands-

As of (7/06/2024)-

World Class-

Blue Devils- 80.600
Bluecoats- 78.750
Boston Crusaders- 78.450
Carolina Crown- 77.950
Phantom Regiment- 77.500
Mandarins- 76.600
The Cavaliers- 75.900
Santa Clara Vanguard- 75.900
Blue Stars- 74.100
Colts- 73.150
Troopers- 71.450
Madison Scouts- 71.350
Blue Knights- 69.600
Pacific Crest- 68.650
The Academy- 65.500
Seattle Cascades- 61.650

Yet to Compete (Crossmen, Genesis, Jersey Surf, Music City, Spirit of Atlanta)

Open Class-

Blue Devils B- 63.850
River City Rhythm- 61.600
Spartans- 60.400
Gold- 60.250
Colt cadets- 59.300
7th Regiment- 53.350
Impulse- 51.250
Vessel- 51.050
Blue Devils C- 46.700

All Age Class-

Reading Buccaneers- 76.950
Cincinnati Tradition- 74.950
Bushwackers- 74.450
Hawthorne Caballeros- 74.300
Connecticut Hurricanes- 68.100
Fusion Core- 66.300
Govenaires- 66.000
Sunrisers0 64.200

[Tubalord11]

  On 7/6/2024 at 8:56 PM, Dave609 said:

Do any of ya'll think Carolina Crown will hit the 80's in scores tonight? Blue Devils already have, so I'm curious to see how it will play out tonight. Also noticed that The Mandarins passed Santa Clara Vanguard in scores as well. If we were to base the scores as of now, here is how it stands-

As of (7/06/2024)-

Word Class-

Blue Devils- 80.600
Bluecoats- 78.750
Boston Crusaders- 78.450
Carolina Crown- 77.950
Phantom Regiment- 77.500
Mandarins- 76.600
The Cavaliers- 75.900
Santa Clara Vanguard- 75.900
Blue Stars- 74.100
Colts- 73.150
Troopers- 71.450
Madison Scouts- 71.350
Blue Knights- 69.600
Pacific Crest- 68.650
The Academy- 65.500
Seattle Cascades- 61.650

Yet to Compete (Crossmen, Genesis, Jersey Surf, Music City, Spirit of Atlanta)

Open Class-

Blue Devils B- 63.850
River City Rhythm- 61.600
Spartans- 60.400
Gold- 60.250
Colt cadets- 59.300
7th Regiment- 53.350
Impulse- 51.250
Vessel- 51.050
Blue Devils C- 46.700

All Age Class-

Reading Buccaneers- 76.950
Cincinnati Tradition- 74.950
Bushwackers- 74.450
Hawthorne Caballeros- 74.300
Connecticut Hurricanes- 68.100
Fusion Core- 66.300
Govenaires- 66.000
Sunrisers0 64.200

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They def could, and probably will be in the 79’s if they don’t. also looks like scouts might be having a comeback year and while it’s to early to tell, could be top 12. SOA is also sounding and looking Realllly good, excited to see where they start off tonight. 

[packwick]

bloo holding a little lead over devils at different contests today. 81.9 to 81.3. isn't the silly horse race part of DCI scores fun?

around this time last yr is when Devs opened up the huge 1.5+ gap that they maintained throughout the season. hasn't happened yet, maybe good news for the others. unless it's just slightly delayed this yr. lol

lookin at the recap, actually a chance that the 'true' gap b/w bloo and devils rn is bigger than 0.6. noticed right away that 6 of 8 judges had BD scoring lower than they scored tonight, while 6 of 8 had bloo scoring higher. devs were a bit buoyed by 2 judges, including GE1, which gets doubled at major events. bloo's 2 weak judges were brass and individual vis, again.

[Tubalord11]

  On 7/7/2024 at 6:17 AM, packwick said:

bloo holding a little lead over devils at different contests today. 81.9 to 81.3. isn't the silly horse race part of DCI scores fun?

around this time last yr is when Devs opened up the huge 1.5+ gap that they maintained throughout the season. hasn't happened yet, maybe good news for the others. unless it's just slightly delayed this yr. lol

lookin at the recap, actually a chance that the 'true' gap b/w bloo and devils rn is bigger than 0.6. noticed right away that 6 of 8 judges had BD scoring lower than they scored tonight, while 6 of 8 had bloo scoring higher. devs were a bit buoyed by 2 judges, including GE1, which gets doubled at major events. bloo's 2 weak judges were brass and individual vis, again.

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It makes me really happy seeing Bloo keep up with BD rn. Really love their show and hoping they can pull the “upset” if we’d even call it that. Crown and BAC still have potential, but my $’s on Bloo. But the season had just been such a step up from the past two, loving everyone rn. SA is gonna be a heck of a show. And tysm for your commentary, love reading all you have to say

[packwick]

somebody did a live stream of DCI west w/ their phone. filmed in portrait. also sounds like he's eating candy during the devs, lots of crinkling sounds. ugh. lol. go do some ASMR, fella.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zpmkU1_L4hU&pp=ygUQYmx1ZSBkZXZpbHMgMjAyNA%3D%3D

Devs make lots of grand exclamations w/ amazingly rich chordal moments in the brass that sound championship quality, but still not really fitting together, + only fitfully compelling visually. the pokemon battle music is still a major wtf for me in this thematic context, tho it may not be as bad if you're too old to recognize it lol. "It's not very effective..." iykyk. prob just the Devs' go at appealing to younger viewers. gotta link it all together somehow to make it magical from beginning to end.

i think their ens music perf is considerably stronger than the vis rn. devs are typically visual wizards. right near the start you see timing issues in the guard and form control issues in the brass, and they seem unusually persistent. mostly seems fixable tho.

[packwick]

scv still has that suuuper strong and aggressive brass sound, which is pretty cool considering they didn't field a corps last yr. i mean overall they're rock solid given the circumstances. visual seems to straddle an outdated and contemporary style, which might be why it's not super duper effective rn, along w/ the fact that it's quite dirty. like, parts of it look like they're going for the contemporary stagey style, but then the field doesn't look like a stage at all bc there's no scenic design, so it becomes unbalanced and uninteresting. the parts that are more like what Gaines does for Carmel w/ the traditional drill are a little more effective although more familiar and old-fashioned. guard seems kind of not there at times too. like the ending of that jazz section in the opener is sooo voluminous musically but the guard is just barely there, dancing around. needs more visual volume, should be a flag moment.

Mandarins are fun, really loud, i recall that from last yr too when i saw them live. just like a huuuge wall of sound. some really cool vis moments again, seems like they're figuring out how to write effective shows pretty consistently. i think my favorite vis part is the "unwinding uterus" in the opener LOL. my best description of it. flags around it could use some work.

[TLMANI]

Where are scores from the 2 SC shows?

[Rubisco]

  On 7/7/2024 at 6:50 PM, packwick said:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zpmkU1_L4hU&pp=ygUQYmx1ZSBkZXZpbHMgMjAyNA%3D%3D

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Darn, I missed it. The Blue Devils organization is very quick about getting these videos removed, isn't it? Fewest performance videos on YouTube, it seems.

  On 7/7/2024 at 7:30 PM, packwick said:

i think my favorite vis part is the "unwinding uterus" in the opener

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What?! Hopefully this is just a Rorschach blot moment. I'll have to be on the lookout for that one next time. 😬😂