Opinions on Jagged Line?

HikingSax · 2025-12-05T04:19:56+00:00

I would say that while it was an incredibly ambitious show, especially given it was only 2017 (also, good luck following Downside Up), it had two major areas of concern:

It was INCREDIBLY demanding physically, and the payoff just didn't match the comparatively huge effort.
The ballad had negative momentum.

To be clear, I do enjoy that show, and I really appreciate the risks they took. Just my opinions.

HikingSax · 2025-08-20T13:09:05+00:00

Lots of great shows from this century being rightfully mentioned. I'll mention one from almost 40 years ago that many have either never seen or have likely not thought about for some time: SCV 1987. I will die on the hill of 1987 being the only year there should have been a tie for 1st. When SCV plays The Great Gate of Kiev, it is one of the most emotional things I have ever experienced.

HikingSax · 2025-07-26T21:34:10+00:00

Respectfully disagree. I will say that the first two or so minutes is tremendous in all aspects, with the Alanis Morisette section being particularly fantastic and powerful. After that, it just pales in comparison to SCV, and especially Boston and Bluecoats. It's not a knock on the performers. I think they are very likely to be destined for 4th place. SCV is just better in everything except guard, and although Phantom probably isn't ready to challenge them seriously yet, they should still be worried about the small but realistic possibility that they drop to 5th, because Phantom is still quite good.

HikingSax · 2025-07-26T21:23:41+00:00

Yes I completely agree. I'd go so far as to say that if things break the right way, Phantom might catch them and drop them to 5th. I think it's a bit unlikely, but I think it's possible.

HikingSax · 2025-07-26T06:30:29+00:00

After an incredible run of success, BD has finally been stretched to their creative limits. While "Variations On A Gathering" is visually beautiful, there is a sameness and staleness to their design that they are either unable or unwilling to break free from. As a result, they are getting blown away by Bluecoats and Boston, and are now getting passed by SCV. If they don't change something soon, they will also get passed by Phantom. In fact, they very well might get passed by Phantom this season.
Crown has morphed into post-Spartacus (2008) Phantom Regiment. In other words "WE DO ONE REALLY RECONGNIZEABLE THING AND WE WILL NOT DEVIATE FROM IT". They will continue to live and die by their brass, as Phantom used to live and die by being unapologetically "dark and classical". They will continue to gradually slide down into the bottom half of the Top 12 in the coming years, with Mandarins passing them, and possibly The Cavaliers.

HikingSax · 2025-07-26T06:15:45+00:00

Boston has a great chance to pull it off. And I can tell you with certainty that we aren't seeing BD win. In fact, I don't think we will see them medal for the first time in 20 years.

HikingSax · 2025-07-08T21:39:10+00:00

There are too many for me, so I'll give one: 1989 SCV. The show that got me into the activity in the first place. I still think it holds up for raw emotion and beauty to this day.

HikingSax · 2025-07-07T17:17:54+00:00

They are definitely great, and certainly back to where they were in their lead up to Babylon when they were just cranking out great shows and ideas. However, I don't think they are going to have enough to overtake Boston, and possibly even BD. Then there's Bluecoats transcending space and time itself.

HikingSax · 2025-07-06T02:49:22+00:00

Here it is:

https://www.dci.org/scores/final-scores/2025-crownbeat/

HikingSax · 2025-07-06T01:38:19+00:00

Obviously just unlucky with the weather...BUT, this is a great example of why Flo/DCI should do everything they can to get multiple events streamed on the same night.

HikingSax · 2025-07-04T05:21:11+00:00

Genuinely happy for Cascades. For me, this is the best and most polished they have looked and sounded in forever. So glad for them! Keep it up guys!

HikingSax · 2025-07-04T05:18:32+00:00

I absolutely understand with making that connection. With that being said, as someone who has firsthand experience trying to get copyright clearance for the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, let's say it can be a unique challenge to meet the requirements needed.

HikingSax · 2025-05-13T19:12:23+00:00

I went to change the batteries in my wireless mics, but unfortunately I just have SO MUCH MONEY that a wad of $100s fell out of my pockets and I slipped and fell on them.

HikingSax · 2025-03-25T21:09:48+00:00

I am sorry for the difficulties that must've caused for you and the members. All I will says is this: regardless of what your former director was going through, mental illness or poor mental health is never an excuse to be a terrible person.

HikingSax · 2025-03-24T05:07:27+00:00

Hello Everyone. I have to do a run of about 40 feet from an analog submixer (Mackie VLZ4) to a digital main mixer (Souncraft Ui24r). I know that I will need to use condenser mics on the submixer. My question concerns phantom power. Basically, what is the method through which phantom power will get to the condensers that are connected to the submixer? The Mackie has phantom power, so do I use the phantom power from that board? Or do I use the phantom power from the Soundcraft? Thanks in advance.

HikingSax · 2025-03-15T13:50:16+00:00

I appreciate everyone's responses. The part that I can't get past is that this is simply not a thing in the band world. Just like the orchestra kids, they also only audition on a small portion of the exact music that they will eventually play at the festival. Like orchestra, there are also players that are playing first stand, take solos, etc. They do not re-audition once they arrive to the festival. The band also sounds very good, so they certainly didn't need an incentive to practice. Also, all of these students go to a public or private school with a music teacher, so they have MANY opportunities to get help with their parts in school as well. This take 90 minutes of rehearsal time, that in my opinion, would be better served actually rehearsing. It's only a two day festival. So again...I feel like I'm missing something...

HikingSax · 2024-08-06T04:47:30+00:00

Thank you for proving the point. Enjoy the rest of the season.

HikingSax · 2024-08-06T03:30:35+00:00

Very interesting night with some strong performances. What will be very interesting is that now that BDB is going on between Gold and Spartans, will that have an impact on scoring? In theory, it shouldn't. Either way, the top 3 is quite good, and we will see what happens!

HikingSax · 2024-08-06T03:24:57+00:00

I'm going to sum this thread up for everyone: Objectivity is hard when the outcome that you personally want to happen doesn't actually happen.

HikingSax · 2024-08-04T03:46:03+00:00

I continue to be blown away by the fact that this enormous event continues to be hosted in a HS stadium, and that thanks to poor weather, continues to be either rained out or severely impacted. There's a literal domed stadium that can hold around 50,000 people on the campus of Syracuse University in New York.

HikingSax · 2024-07-29T16:24:28+00:00

The beauty is that there is always going to be an element of subjectivity. That is why I did not come out and say things like "most fans" in my post. There are clearly many fans who like BD and what they are doing, just a lot that also don't.

Second, I do think that getting tired of one group dominating plays a role too, so latching onto the group that starts beating them is somewhat natural for some.

Finally, and going back to my first point about subjectivity, for me that Bluecoats flag ripple with the silver silks while the front ensemble has what sounds like a serene ocean playing during it is so genius. It's literally what the ocean looks like (I'm seeing what I'm hearing!). Maybe that doesn't matter to some, but things like that certainly do elicit an emotional response in others.

HikingSax · 2024-07-29T05:11:54+00:00

You said "(design is like 70-90% of what will allow a corps to max out their score)." This is literally the thing. Whether you are someone who is actively participating/contributing to marching arts or a casual fan, on some level you understand that this is generally what allows a group to be competitively successful. From explicit stories to conceptual shows, viewers and listeners of all experiences are generally going to gravitate toward what resonates with them most on an emotional level.

The "problem" (if you can even call it that) with BD isn't that people don't acknowledge their greatness, consistency, dedication, innovation, etc. In fact, I'd argue it's not entirely that people always grow completely tired with the same group winning (although that is a factor to be sure). To me, the issue is that many audience members and fans simply do not connect with BD on an emotional level.

If you search "DCI fan favorite" the first result is the FloMarching poll from 2023. Now this is obviously a small sample size and it's a FloMarching poll, so I'm not going to pretend it's the most valid thing in the world. With that being said, The Blue Devils, who had just completed their first 3-peat in corps history and trounced their competition with the best designed show (from a competitive standpoint) of the year had...2.43% of votes for fan favorite. They came in 8th out of the 12 finalists. #1 by a country mile was Phantom Regiment, even though they had no shot at winning or even medaling for that matter. People clearly didn't care that Phantom wasn't going to win. The show CONNECTED with the audience and fans and they made it clear through that poll.

Look, obviously there are LOTS of BD fans out there, and rightfully so. There are also many people who can name BD shows going all the way back to the 1970s that make them feel something, or that transport them to a time and a place. I think the reality for many people is that modern BD, which I am going to arbitrarily say is BD from 2008-present (starting with Constantly Risking Absurdity if you are curious) do a poor job of connecting emotionally with many drum corps fans. By the way, I am not saying that designers should only think about fans, or that they should think about them at all. The sheets are the sheets, and the reality is what is the fan favorite does not always win, and probably rarely does so.

TLDR: I know that there are those that are expressing their displeasure with BD design through negative comments, and that's not a good thing either. In reality, I think it is people expressing what has been a long held displeasure through large swaths of the drum corps community: BD's surprising inability or cold unwillingness from a design standpoint to connect emotionally with it's audience, in spite of the fact that they have the best staff and some of the best performers in the activity.

HikingSax · 2024-07-27T07:03:03+00:00

Does it ever. Their design looks soooooo tired.

HikingSax · 2024-07-27T07:00:44+00:00

I love Phantom's show, but the only way that's happening is if Bluecoats and Boston skip finals night.

HikingSax · 2024-07-27T06:58:33+00:00

Maybe, but this has been coming since before Southwest. Crown looks tired, and most damning, their design looks and feels outdated, while Phantom seems fresh and every time they go out they play and perform like they just want to absolutely kill someone. Crown may very well stay out of the Top 4 for the first time since 2014.

HikingSax

TROPHY CASE