2008 Videos - Win Some, Lose Some

By Matthew in Uncategorized on August 19 2008

Good things:

1. CDs are all of World Class, not just Top 12.

2. Widescreen!!!

Bad things:

1. Only 1 DVD for the Top 6, so only two camera angles. Not a deal breaker, but I liked the option.

2. No highcam for non-Finalists.

Who didn’t see this coming?

By Matthew in Uncategorized on August 19 2008

Fiedler is at SCV now. Their director just stepped down.

He’s taking over in 5… 4… 3…

Print Media vs. Internets

By Matthew in Uncategorized on August 12 2008

If there’s a sign at how the landscape has changed over the last few years, it’s this:

Allentown was over a week ago. Finals has been over for three days. DCW is just now posting their Allentown reviews.

I love DCW, but not only could I hear instant reviews of the show online I could watch it from the comfort of my own apartment. I have RSS feeds for many corps and DCI. I’m getting most of the news I would get from DCW for free and faster. And I get my recaps from DCI.

And that’s just the way things are going.

Finals Week Checklist

By Matthew in Uncategorized on August 10 2008

Phantom won… check.
Blue Stars did well… check.
Crossmen made finals… miss.
Troopers made Semis… check.

Overall, I think it was a good Finals. The Top 8 shows are all excellent, and I can not wait to get the DVDs. Three of the five Semis shows were excellent, and Mandarins were great. I’m happy.

Off to Indy!

By Matthew in Uncategorized on August 6 2008

I’m leaving for Indy in about 90 minutes. I CAN’T WAIT!

For once, we don’t know who is going to win DCI. Go Phantom!

Finals Week Predictions

By Matthew in Uncategorized on August 3 2008

It’s time. How will the scores shake down by Saturday? Let’s apply some logic and try to guess.

The first thing I’m going to set is 12-20. Nothing is going to change. Academy won’t overtake PC or Troopers and will mess Semifinals. Colts will not budge, Madison will not make Finals, and Crossmen are a lock for 12th.

The next block is 8-11. Glassmen have been on a tear recently, beating BK by a LOT and also taking down Boston in Allentown. It’s still very close between the three of them, so I don’t know where they’re going to land… and that doesn’t include Blue Stars. Yes, I know that Blue Stars took 8th at Allentown but that was a performance on their own.

Therefore, we need to look at the performance order. Starting at 11th, we see:

Glassmen
Blue Stars
Boston
Blue Knights

Glassmen have proven that they can win in that position, so I’m giving them 8th followed by Boston, Blue Stars, and BK. Expect some major switching going on over the three days.

SCV vs. Bluecoats. I’m giving the edge to SCV because they usually come out to play Finals week while Bluecoats tend to peak around San Antonio and can’t finish the season properly. There’s exceptions like 2006, but the general rule is that Blooo loses out. SCV 6th, Bluecoats 7th.

Cadets 5th. C’mon. That’s easy.

And now we have the top four corps scoring withing 0.5 of each other. Phantom goes on first at Quarterfinals, and while I’d love an upset from them this summer it won’t happen on Thursday. They’ve got to play smart and climb up the ranks all week long. Crown is just happy to be there, and while I love their show I have a feeling they’re going to get crushed in competetion with the big boys. They’ll still be fabulous, and I’ll still be cheering them on. Cavies showed that they can win this thing, but they’re hamstrung by going on before Devils. And who knows where Phantom will be after Quarters. The best way I can go about this is to try to predict each night:

QUARTERFINALS:
1. Blue Devils
2. Phantom
3. Cavailers
4. Crown

SEMIFINALS:
1. Phantom
2. Cavailers - Benefit from performing after Crown
3. Blue Devils - Damaged performing after Phantom
4. Crown

FINALS:
1. Phantom
2. Blue Devils
3. Cavailers
4. Crown

This makes my official predictions:

1. Phantom
2. Blue Devils
3. Cavailers
4. Carolina Crown
5. Cadets
6. Santa Clara
7. Bluecoats
8. Glassmen
9. Boston
10. Blue Stars
11. Blue Knights
12. Crossmen
——————
13. Madison Scouts
14. Colts
15. Spirit
16. Troopers (WOO!)
17. Pacific Crest
——————
18. Academy
19. Mandarins
20. Pioneer

Watch me be completely wrong.

Ugh. (Atlanta)

By Matthew in Uncategorized on July 26 2008

So I got out of bed at an ungodly hour after going out the night before just to watch my beloved Troopers perform. I thought they did good. Not great like in San Antonio, but good. Academy did well, I thought PC had issues today, so I expected placements to stay close to the same.

Imagine my surprise when Troop fell from 16th to 18th.

I’m a little miffed. I’m trying to rationalize it… they went on first out of the three, it’s a Regional so everything is a little crazy in the lower ranks… and I don’t want to just be angry.

But I am. Just a bit. And Troop won’t face any of their direct competition again until Allentown. Grumble.

I probably won’t tune in until Cadets take the field tonight. I’m burnt out.

I hope the corps has a plan.

Update Your Bookmarks. Again.

By Matthew in Uncategorized on July 22 2008

I think I finally was able to set this up the way I wanted to, so the feed location has been changed.

Again.

I’m going to re-enter this feed in my RSS reader. You should too.

Atlanta Lineup Analysis

By Matthew in Archives on July 21 2008

Winners:

1. Academy - If they want to prove themselves as a Semifinalist, they need to rock their show. On between Troop and PC, they’ve got to score big to stand a change in Indiana.

2. Madison - Best possible draw for them, and even thought they don’t get to go directly on before Crossmen they’re placed well for a possible evening show.

3. Bluecoats - From “they’re stuck in 7th” to going on in 4th.

Losers:

1. Troopers - While I doubt that they will be hurt by going on in 18th, it’s possible that they should show some weakness in Atlanta due to scheduling.

2. Santa Clara - Bloooo’s gain is their loss. On between BK and Boston? Ouch.

3. Cadets - Could they slide down even further? Bluecoats are on fire, Phantom still has things to add into the show and Cadets are on after the break.

How do I share my joy?

By Matthew in Archives on July 20 2008

One of the most difficult parts of the summer is trying to explain Drum Corps to other people. I can talk about it until I’m blue in the face, I can even show people clips of it, but it’s just not the same as seeing it live. I can talk all I want about Santa Clara’s magic trick/costume change, but it won’t show over the internet. I can talk about Carolina Crown’s 72-member horn line, but you won’t feel it until your hair is being pushed back by the sheer volume. There’s a reality to a live show that I can’t sell on my own.

And I have no more live shows to send people until Finals.

Finals is another problem. From what I’ve gathered, my group still has two open tickets for Finals Week and I don’t want to offer them to anyone. Finals Week is for me, and the last thing I want to do is babysit others who aren’t committed to the experience. Add in the venue change and the fact that anyone who goes is stuck at the stadium until the show is over, and there’s no real way to get people involved.

I’d love to have my friends over this weekend to try and explain it, to try and show it off through the final live internet feed, but will it really work?

I’d put Bluecoats’ boxing show up there with a lot of entertainment I’ve consumed over the last year. It’s so wonderfully constructed, the narration actually adds to the program, and when they finally kick into the Rocky theme I want to cry. Carolina’s Crown “classical in a blender” show is a sight to behold, but how do I explain to non-initiates that the ending is a mélange of classic endings from the past? That the rifle feature in the company front isn’t just cool, that it’s fucking brilliant considering the show? How do I explain that Cadets are still as fast and furious as in the past, despite the soul-sucking conversation over it? How do I explain that I actually enjoy Blue Devils this summer?

I think that everyone who goes to a show with me understands the Troopers thing. Besides the bumper sticker, the decal, the rope drum rear-view mirror charm, and my corps jacket, they know it’s a big deal for me. I just can’t explain it to others.

For one weekend out of the year, I’m surrounded by other people who honestly get it. My DCI friends and I speak another language that is impenetrable to outsiders. Others talk about RBIs, I’m talking about injustices in the Visual GE Content subcaption. It’s the rest of the summer that sucks.

When I finally get a serious boyfriend again, he’ll have to suck it up but I’ve never had things sync with DCI. Before the weekend I’m alone in my obsession, and when it’s over I’m along again.

I hate it.

Yes, it’s my own fault. I blame the job, which isn’t a problem anymore. The timing just sucks this year, and since I’m tipsy I feel horrible about it.

I had better get on that Game Show to lift my spirits.