@JaydenLacroixthat makes sense. recurring costs like transportation, food, personnel are usually more expensive in the long run than the one time fee of producing props and unis
@JaydenLacroix is it still less than 5% if they'd need to rent another semi trailer truck just for props? (more gas, renting a truck, truck driver, etc.) I don't actually know how much that costs though
@@adrianacrespo8311it’s a percentage of the overall travel cost. It saves money, but it depends on the props. There have definitely been lighter or more collapsible/disassembling props that fit in the existing equipment trucks, and there are some props that take up a ton of space. I think the main thing to think about, is that vanguard could have like 1 cool prop at an essentially negligible cost, so their choice of no props is a *Choice* and you shouldn’t just attribute it to cost saving.
@@funlinerproductions7071for sure. Every empire must fall eventually, 18 years at the top is crazy impressive. I just wanted to get your goat for getting your prediction very wrong. I’m more excited that more groups are at BDs level in terms of being strong across the entire sheet not just really strong in specific areas. I could easily see BD getting third and not winning every other year as being a norm throughout the 2020s if things stay as they are. Obviously they’ll still win but not quite as often,
Is he eating his words yet? Bluecoats just snapped BD win streak at DCI Southwest and have beaten BD and Boston by almost 2 points. Bluecoats all the way baby. Go Blooo.
but also acknowledge how he got the final scores pretty close! he made great points and it’s so cool because he admitted he didn’t want bd to win again!
I've noticed that there are quite a few corps doing some variation of the z-pull this year. I wonder if these are intentional homages to the Cadets. It's bittersweet, but it reminds me that the Cadets' DNA is intrinsically intertwined into all of modern drum corps. Whether they themselves are on the field or not, they are still with us in some small way.
The bluecoats show is rare. And the props kinda remind me about the last year's Blue Devils. They have the echoing strike from the horns at the beginning leading to the increase of the horns and the battery along with this marching type vibe And above all the show goes into full mode. And midway through the show there was the Echoes of the trumpets. Kind of reminding me of the 2021 show Lucy. And when they get to the horns part in the fast tempo after the drumset goes into full mode, It reminds me of 2018 when they did the tuba feature. Skipping to the ending there's this vocoeding sound. And it goes back into the trombone sound all of a sudden there it goes further until absolute silence and that's how the show ends.
i watched this video when it came out and it was so fun to come back and see these predictions as i think i like the real standings a whole lot better 😭😭😭
I think that BD and Coats will come down to the membership at BD. You and I both remember how 2016 went, and there are some similarities to the vibes between the two groups in that bluecoats seem to be out to prove a point, and blue devils have a much more aggressive show visually following two wins(that pattern scares me for obvious reasons of 13 and 16). Discipline from devs membership to not get complacent will be paramount. I think bluecoats have an incredible vehicle and have much better visual instruction than back when we marched, and Kevin has their brass sounding very refined, which again is much diffent than Derek’s lines that leaned more into the energy side of approach. I think that Devs are set up to sweep captions this year, but that doesn’t take away from just how incredible the bluecoats production is both from design and the members buy in. I think vanguard has a much higher ceiling than people are still expecting. Tanner has that brass on fire, and I think if any corps is going to do well without props, it’ll be one with a show designed by Dan Morrison. He came in and set a BOA record score with Regan in San Antonio a few years ago amongst the best bands in the country with lots of money for props. Him and Gaines together will have a high ceiling for GE without the extra visual aesthetics because of their ability to create motion and stage and how well vanguard has danced since 2018. I think Bostons show is going to kill them down the road in GE and I could see the sub captions working out to where vanguard could creep ahead of them. The book is too broken up and it feels like there’s not the same flow in the music ensemble pacing that vanguard has. Crown will be a solid third, I love the show but doesn’t have the legs of the top 2, and depending on what they do with it, I think the closer is not going to help them without major revisions.
I haven’t read all that but I already agree that it’ll come down to membership , I called it before season starting checking out the “rosters” of both of those groups
My current finals prediction after seeing the summer music games in Murfreesboro. 1. Bloo 2. Boston 3. BD 4. Phantom 5. Crown 6. Mandarins 7. SCV 8. Blue stars 9. Cavies 10. Troopers 11. Colts 12. Scouts
To explain coast show a little bit they’re using entropy to convey their theme, or rather the idea of entropy. Entropy atleast in chemistry is how disordered something is so things with high entropy are like gases because their molecules are really spread out and not orderly. I really see what they’re doing with the choreo and music arrangements to convey the change is everything idea. Side note I think just like BD and coats are gonna fight it out this year I think boston and crown are gonna fight too I believe boston has a more all around corps from percussion to color guard and their brass has been growing over the past 2 years. This years gonna be fun to watch.
Here are some of my “too early to predict but I’m a nerd so I’m going to do it anyways” thoughts. 7th - Mandarins I have to agree with you here! These top seven spots are going to be REALLY tight. With SCV back and how aggressive Phantom started their season, this feels right. Probably the most fun show of the year so far in my opinion! 6- Phantom In my eyes, fifth and six is going to be a MASSIVE fight between SCV and Phantom. Wouldn’t be surprised to see them switching throughout the seasons, even during finals weekend. The reason Phantom sixth is because I feel that they don’t do a great job at developing their show throughout the season. They clean things up and get better of course, but they rarely change up their show at all or adapt. Best solo/duet of the year here 5- SCV I was genuinely shocked to see how naturally SCV fit right back in this year. It’s like they never left! Wouldn’t be surprised to see them take back the Sanford. I’m a huge fan of the sampling! United in Grief is one of my favorite songs so I’m a little biased though. 4- Boston 4th just feels safe for this corps and for this show. It has potential of course, but I feel like Boston has been playing things safe. I could even see this dipping down into 5th if SCV really steps up their game. Tons of talent, but not a show with much depth to it. 3- Crown As much as I’d love to see a Crown Championship again, this doesn’t feel like the year. It feels like a bit of a step up from last year, but not enough of a step to separate themselves. A very safe show for crown to do from a design standpoint, but the music and visual components of this show are a step in the right direction. It’ll be SUPER close, but as it stand, I’m not going to be giving to Ott to crown. 2- Bluecoats This show feels so familiar and yet so new and refreshing for the Bluecoats. It’s like a trip back to the 2016-2018 era of Bluecoats but with more of their signature modern flair. Like the Blue Devils, I see this show scoring a lot of 1st and 2nds in individual captions. Every section is strong. I see this show winning the Donald Angelica. 1- Blue Devils I don’t even want them to win. They keep winning. I want to see other corps win. However, my god, the Blue Devils win for a reason. They have just been progressively getting better and better with every season post Covid. That being said, I think the Bluecoats COULD give them a run for their money, or at least keep them on their toes. I could see them getting a little TOO complacent later in the season which could kill them. I don’t this show will end up scoring AS high as the Cutouts did, but it’ll likely be in that 98 range by finals night. I see BD winning the Ott, Zingali, and Brazale. Feel free to let me know what you think. Again, all of this is WAY too early to legitimately predict, but it’s fun to talk about.
Bluecoats will win. Their new ending is epic. They have a grand finale plus a glorious coda. They end as they began. The music is thrilling and challenging for the player and listener.
I think Blue Devils has an excellent show concept this year and that means they are going to have a decent chance at a 4-peat. However, I think the Bluecoats have super strong sections as well, and they are the only group who can possibly also win the championship.
Super excited for my local show on July 26th!!! I'm in love with the level of creativity and achievement we're already seeing this season. It's crazy!! Thanks for the video, and I'm looking forward to the content by the end of the season!
8:58 - Mandarins in 1996-1999 in Div III four-peated. This wouldn't be DCI's first four-peat. This would, however, be the first in current world class.
@@UbuntuBanksie a lot of people felt that way about 2016 bloo early season but as the season went on they warmed up to it, i think that as they change the show throughout the season more people will begin to like it.
BD’s costumes and use of color is amazing. But their show design falls flat this year-much inferior to Cutouts. BD should be 4th this year. Bloo, BAC, and Crown are bringing it hard visually and musically. BD not as much this year-music book is too segmented and visual design is nonexistent.
SCV is so smart. I'm loving the traditional look with no props. Good to have them back. Mandarins and marching trombones changes the whole sound of the music sounds amassing. BD was so mid and a yawn fest. I hope they don't win this season.
@@KNX-pf1rp of course theyre clean as always, but their show to me kinda felt like the exact same formatting as 23, with a general tone closer to crown's 23 show i personally think last years show is just more interesting, at least comparing to this years show as it is now, but some of that is just because i personally really like more major/bright toned shows
OK just re-watched to both BD and Bluecoats from the most recent competition and here is another take: I like the overall sound of BD a bit better, but at least on this night, the energy of the Bluecoats brass was overwhelming. They deserved the caption. From a GE/Visual standpoint, I'm not as big a fan of the much larger reliance on electronics that Bluecoats have moved to in the last few years - but it sure fit in well with their show. I think one thing that might be working a bit against BD from a GE/Visual standpoint, is that the music itself is pretty "dark" for the first portion of the show and the drill mirrors it - in contrast the entire Bluecoats book is very "uplifting". Maybe somehow given all the negative crap we have going on in the world this year, an overall uplifting show just resonates slightly better. I'm not a percussion expert (although I was a jazz drummer at one point), but it does seem like the Bluecoats show itself shows off their drumline a bit better. From an execution standpoint I think its a toss-up actually. I do think the BD show as a whole is very well put together (I've seen it 4 times now and it's always like "wait, are we already at the closer? Wow that went by fast!", and for me I do like the brass sound just a bit better - but the Bluecoats have latched on to a psychological factor that I think is significant and their execution is just outstanding.
Phantom came out of the gates strong last year, and I expect them to peak early and get passed mid-season just like last year with Cadets and Mandarins. SCV might grab that 5th spot solely because of their percussion because I think Mandarins have way more room to grow overall. Mandarins will just have to really clean up musically to get 5th. I agree with your top 4 - BD is winning again!
After just watching the troopers live, they have a really good chance at top 5, they need to work on some things obviously but their show is amazing. Better than last year and honestly the best show I have seen in person.
While the battles through are great, I’m over here hoping the Scouts finally return to finals night . The battle for 12th is what I’ve been paying attention to.
I’m a Blue Devil fan forever? Why? Guess because I played Tenors all 4 years in high school. Second my drum instructor was Steve Campbell-27th Lancers-81-83 and BD 84-86. He was center snare when BD percussion won 4th consecutive Sanford under the direction of Tom Float! Plus Scojo worked with us tenors on a school visit to see Campbell and us!
I came to the same conclusion as you -- like it or not, BD is probably going to win again. I mean, they just ARE. I like the Bluecoats show a lot, so I agree with 2nd. Phantom Regiment has really come out HOT from what I've seen -- hope they can keep up that momentum and energy. Top 5 for sure!
Hear me out 1. Blue Devils 2. Bluecoats 3. Boston Crusaders 4. Carolina Crown 5. Santa Clara Vanguard 6. Phantom Regiment 7. Mandarins SCV having no props but making up for it in visual performance makes their show somewhat harder than Phantom and Mandarins imo. Also I’d LOVE to see Crown get top 3 but their brass lines are incredibly challenging and could allow room for small errors. BD is just so good at balancing a clean and difficult performance year after year. Definitely can see a 4-peat happening
I can agree with this statement. I really think Vanguard has a drive to be top five and they have one of the strongest horn lines and percussion sections in years.
I think SCV vs Phantom will be a much closer race this season than with the Mandarins, but Phantom is out for top 5 this season, once their brass gets that triple tongue section cleaned they're gonna make a huge jump
I really think there will be a fight for top 2 and it’s going to be close like 2019. Seeing bluecoats in person at their preview show and then watching it on stream afterwards, a lot of the electronic effects got lost and were not nearly as effective. The opener is incredibly striking and reminded me of the 2014 pitch bend with just how awesome it was, but it was not conveyed on the recording as well. I am excited to see all of the corps live later this year in Allentown, but both bluecoats and blue devils have wicked good shows right out of the gates and it’s going to be a crazy close fight.
Hey Funliner...curious what your take is now - I agree with @bdfan4ever, seems 3rd is likely. Just saw them live in Ft. Collins and I actually LOVED the show - brass was amazing, percussion amazing, color guard, well - we did have some renegade hoops running all over the place :). Then I compared recaps to the other shows that night. Holy crap. Then Blue Coats the next night. ~3 points difference? Crown drumline matching BD? Uh....something seems slightly amiss here. I watched what I could of the other shows on TH-cam and I really like Boston and 'Coats, but I just don't see that much of a spread between BD and the Blue Coats. The latter opening hit has technically harder brass parts, but I'm just not seeing why the huge difference in scoring on brass and on GE. The BD show seemed to fly by, I kept checking my watch just a bit watching Boston and the Blue Coats. Enjoyed all three a ton though. I'm not much of a conspiracy guy, but seems like powers that be definitely don't want a 4-peat. Can't say that I blame them, better for the activity as a whole to have competition at the top, I'd just like it to be real, not manufactured.
Btw, I would like to add that the blue devils music this year is my favorite book in YEARS. It’s been on repeat for the past few weeks. But it’s the visuals that are holding them back.
Well looks like my prediction is going to come true - latest competition "Innovations in Brass" in Ohio, BD is a solid 3rd. And 4th in GE holy cow! When's the last time that happened?7/10ths to catch Boston seems like a lot to make up during championship week. Funliner - your comment about there being "just too much talent across the captions" (or something to that effect) so even if they aren't first across the board they will still win I think is correct - just seems like it applies to the Bluecoats this year, not BD. Seems Bluecoats are poised to win Brass, GE and Drums. Wow. Good for them. It's about time.
@@tadfrysinger4744 what struck me was how he couldn’t see the deficiencies in the blue devils design. When j first saw the cut outs, I knew nobody would touch them. This year has been a clunky design mess. BUT…that music book: EASILY my favorite since methods of madness.
I actually really heavily agree with this prediction. I would say my only thing is I think second third and fourth are pretty accurate but I do think it’s a good idea to throw in that I think they’re gonna be a tossup again I think they’re going to go back-and-forth throughout the season just like they did last year, and who knows I mean we could maybe see that happening with the blue Devils but like you said they are really strong this year in every caption and that’s the only thing I think I might not agree with is the brass award I very heavily see Crown buffing in their book again. But even then, just after watching them both, I feel like crowns slightly cleaner right off the bat musically but like you said that could change, so here’s my prediction. 1. Blue devils 2. Carolina crown 3. Bluecoats 4. Boston crusaders 5. Phantom regiment 6. Vanguard 7. Mandarins Once again, like you said, that’s kind of where I think it’s going to be once again, I think, especially crown and blue coats, especially are going to go back-and-forth all season, and then I also want to say same thing for Vanguard and mandarins so those are my placement positions really pretty similar to what you had. I just have crown bluecoats flipped but really if I would say, I probably put the More as equal right now. Because they both have different categories that are stronger than others, so those two are hard to put together now for individual captions. Guard. Boston crusaders Percussion. BD or Vanguard Visual. BD Brass. Carolina crown or Blue Devils To start off visual and guard I agree with pretty heavily on what you said I think percussion right now both blue Devils in vanguard are pretty close in that caption. So right now in my opinion, it’s really hard to say on that one and even in guard, I think blue Devils could come up or even crown I mean crown has won a couple guard awards before so it’s hard to say. visual, That’s an easy one blue Devils are going to take that they always have a very strong visual performance and I think there is no doubt that they will end up taking visual this year brass is hard to say because at least right now based on the first performance of both they were tied and that’s why I’m saying it could be back-and-forth like you said, if crown buffs up their book again I could see crown taken it, but it could go back-and-forth So there’s my opinion, please don’t argue with it it’s just my opinion again this is like he said very early on in the season. It’s hard to say right now I think a lot of these are going to go back-and-forth all season long. I were going to see corps change positions and caption awards and all of it so that’s my final say will see how right or wrong I am
I was so shocked that BD was strong so early in the season, that I can't wait to see how the other corps catch up. But I see BD, Bluecoats, Crown and Boston tying for 3rd, SCV for 5th. The Colts show is surprisingly good too. I also feel in order for Bluecoats to take a win this season, seeing that their show is Change is Everything, we will need to SEE an unexpected change visually to take them over the top. With no backdrops or props that may be hard.
Coming from a SCV fan, I actually think BD percussion is going to take it this year. Lots of different interpretations and sound in the percussion ensemble. I can’t wait till the San Antonio show!
Heard Scojo say on a podcast that since he is into statistics, he noticed there has never been a year since the 90's, the Blue Devils won percussion but did not win the show. So, if they win percussion, Blue Devils win the show.
@@jackwong2917I read the op as saying it’s the other way around. Win Percussion>Win the trophy. The past 3 season was the opposite and still supports what the op is saying.
@jackwong2917 the statement is not if they won the show, they win the Sanford. The statement is historically, the years they won the Sanford, they also won the show. 1994, 1997, 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2015 they won the Sanford, and every single time they won the Sanford, the Blue Devils also won the championship.
I really dislike blue devils show this year. The design feels very muddy like it’s trying to be too many things. There’s also barely any dynamic contrast in the music cause it’s all just loud. They never give the crowd any time to take in what they are doing. It feels flat and like it’s just to impress judges
My early predictions, 6 days after this video and now that a lot more corps have finally made their debut (even though Splanta, Crossmen, and music city all went to a show that didnt release any scores for some reason . . .) are: 1. BD (i dont WANT them too, but unfortunately, until we see Bloo perform again at Whitewater tonight to get a more accurate comparison, BD looks not very touchable rn. Agree with a lot of what was said in the video) 2. Bluecoats. I do think that 1st and 2nd will be very close though, with 3rd less so. 3. Crown 4. Boston. Similarly with 1st vs 2nd, i think 3rd vs 4th will be super tight, and it already is! Boston holds the lead for now but I do think Crown has a more sound show, the brass is too phenomenal this year, and their guard has really taken a step up from last year to challenge Boston's own great guard. all of the top 4 will be a very tight and hectic race this season and i'm excited to watch it! 5. I think Phantom stands alone very firmly in 5th with not much challenge from other corps, but similarly the talent above them would be difficult to reach. Amazing show this year once again, almost certain it will win "Fan favorite" once again and they'll get their own 4-peat lmao 6. Here's where it gets tough. as of July 5th, Mandarins has actually pulled ahead of SCV, and Cavies are tied with SCV. I genuinely believe the race for 6th will be even more competitive than who wins 1st this year. And that's exciting. I will say, the Midwest show on the 5th had some extremely questionably judging so that throws stuff for a loop rn. I do personally still think SCV could potentially come out on top?? they have a more competitive music book than say Mandarins for example, but one can't help but wonder how much the lack of props will continue to slightly harm their overall GE as the season continues, even if having no props is the point of their brilliant show design. I say SCV 6th but I would however not be one bit surprised if it was lost to either Mandarins or even Cavaliers. 7. Hot take but I do think Cavaliers has a strong shot at landing 7th this year. So does Mandarins, dont get me wrong, but that's why we do these "way too early predictions" in the first place lol. Cavaliers percussion once again is just out of this world, and single-handedly carrying the corps just like last season, but their brass isn't playing around this year either and is standing solid at 6th as of July 5th, and their guard has stepped up a lot from last season too. They feel a lot more well-rounded compared to last year, and their concept/design is a lot deeper than last years show and that could take them places. 8. Mandarins. Nothing to say other than a repeat of the last 2 placements. these 3 corps could all easily land anywhere from 6th-8th and im all for it. 9. Another tight race between 9th and 10th but I think Colts will come on top by the end of the season. They're on a similar trajectory from the prior season, as well as on trajectory to beat last season's score of 90.263, which was not only a Corps record highest score, but DCI record highest 9th place finish score. 10. Blue Stars. Also having a very similar trajectory to last year, they're starting out the season fairly strong, but I can't help but admit it's likely because of lower content score comparatively. Blue Stars are hella clean for what they have right now, but that's also the problem, and what caused them to fall to 11th last season. If they can make consistent improvements to the show then hey they might surprise me and topple Colts this year, though as a Colts alum that would make me sad lol. I do think 9th-10th could very easily sway either way, especially with Blue stars being in the lead as of now, and having only lost the lead to Calts a single time so far this season and by only like .2 or .3 points or something like that. 11. Troopers. Troopers opening up not as strong as I was expecting this year. I haven't watched their full show yet, but from the clips I have seen I do definitely prefer the overall ambition and show design of the previous season. I definitely think they have nothing to worry about though, it's still a very solid group this year, their brass sounds the best they have ever sounded this early in the season and it's seriously not even remotely close (and their score of 14.9 reflects that!! - even if i don't personally agree with it) and they should very solidly be in at LEAST 12th place this season. Though i definitely believe they will slot in 11th no problem. 12th - now for 12th i have no prediction. there are too many corps that could potentially score around here this early in the season, and with crossmen and music city remaining unscored after their debut shows, it's truly hard to say. I do say it's extremely exciting that Madison Scouts is holding the honor right now, and is sitting only a tenth behind Troop! but Crossmen is 100% coming out swinging this year, and they sound like they're tired of missing Finals by one placement. Score-wise BK isn't competing for 12th rn, but I also haven't seen their show whatsoever so I cannot speak on whether there's a ton of room for improvement just like last season. I do think the Northwest Music games had some unnecessarily tough judging for some reason and similar to Troopers, it is entirely possibly their score could also be underwhelming and not truthfully reflective of the performance. All i know is 12th place is once again going to be an exciting race just like it always is! Anyways if you got this far, would like to reiterate this are purely subjective opinions very early in the season, from someone who hasn't seen every single show, nor seen any corps live! (yet!) Only video feed so far. Take it with a grain of salt.
Haha, July 6th scores coming out, still patiently waiting for DCI West to wrap up to see where BD lands after Bluecoats took a fairly decent lead tonight, and Colts shoot way ahead of Blue Stars again by almost 2 full points! This is EXACTLYY the type of super close back and forth competition i was referring to in my original comment. Super super excited for the rest of this season!! I think the thing I am most excited for is that it seems like Bloo has an extremely genuine chance to win the gold this year. It looks like they're the only ones with a shot of stealing the title from BD as of right now. Phantom further cementing themselves into 5th by shooting far ahead of the competition behind them (and even ahead of Crown and Boston's really old July 2nd scores, which is impressive though we know that won't last but one more competition) I'm standing ever more firm in my predictions as of now for everything but that 6-8th place. Can't take back what I said but I think I should have went with my gut bc I was very heavily debating making a suuuper hot take and saying Cavies in 6th instead of Vanguard! Again, we will have to wait for DCI West to finish their competition first.
Blue devils sound great! The drill looks like a mess at this point. IMO, the capes look cool on each performer, but collectively muddies up the field. For what they do, I guess they are great, but the Bluecoats are leading the way for DCI innovation. Blue Devils...same ol, same old. At some point, it matters.
I easily predicted 2 things before you got past SCV. 1) you wouldn’t understand Boston’s show and would have them 4th or 5th and 2) BD wins it all. While I don’t disagree that Blue Devils are excellent, the BD fatigue is real and it’s palpable all throughout the fan base. Maybe DCI needs to start instituting an NFL-style salary cap to help even the playing field. Something…anything…
DCI judging seems to have a predetermined pecking order with a corps history being the determining factor in scoring. They tease us with an occasional contender like the Bluecoats, Carolina and Boston but Blue Devils seem like the judges favorites. The best performers are attracted to the Blue Devils because they feel their will be a guarantee of winning a championship. At the same time the Blue Devils shows feels like eating at Taco Bell, the menu items have the same ingredients. The shows feel formulaic without much that seems unique. There will always be fans and apologists of the Blue Devils.
i’m bored so my honest opinions on all shows (before you start yelling at me that i’m wrong: i don’t care if you think im wrong) BD: tbh i think it’s too similar to 2023 and i guess just because 23’ was my first year in the dci fan base i loved bd bc im guard and horn and they excelled at both, but it feels to similarly aesthetically, the theme, and the field of the show Bloo: love it love it love it i like the audio samples, i didn’t like bloo much last year just because the show felt a little disjointed, but the theme is so good and i like the uniforms Crown: as a huge crown fan, favorite show, i know that they’re going to beef up their book later so im not gonna talk about brass but they’re guard is amazing, i like the theme, the drill is cool, i like fire, and i think there going to be a huge fan favorite this year BAC: ngl haven’t seen them play even in a video yet so im gonna stand back on the music and the drill, i don’t like the theme, i think there’s not much depth to it SCV and Mandies: haven’t looked at it but hot take: i didn’t like mandies much last year i loved take me to church but the rest of the show felt like filler and the props felt gimmicky Phantom: only seen a very little but but i like the props mostly and i like the theme DISCLAIMER; i haven’t seen any of these shows in full and these are VERY subject to change
The Romantics is 2019 part 4. I am a Blue Devils fan and I am BORED. Bluecoats show is just SOOOoooooo innovative and I see that show having a lot more potential to grow. I absolutely hated Bluecoats 2023, but this year is just different.
L take, while yes BD does similar shows, saying they've all been the same is just lazy and untrue. They have a certain style, yes, but this year especially is clearly different from the past year, not nearly as like upbeat and much more melodic and less "runny" if that makes sense
I hear the word “innovative” being tossed around too much with Bloo’s show. While I do think it’s quite entertaining, I can point to each part of this year’s show and tell you where they’ve done that before. BD as well. BD will probably win because of talent at every level/caption.
Have you seen BD live? Honestly held this opinion by seeing them on low bit rate streams and vids but live, their shows are impactful. You can see and hear confidence the way they move and play. Performers almost constantly have some sort of high demand whether it is a dense chord or musical statement, choreography, staging, or a big drill move. It feels like everything in the show has a purpose and naturally draws your attention to place on the field where the action is going on.
It’s looking like a 3rd place or 4th place year for them. I’m gonna disagree with you. The visuals are just muddy and all over the place. But man, do I LOVE their musical book. I get goosebumps. But visually it’s just not up to par.
Its sad, but you are right about BD. Why bother even having the competition? I will disagree with you that BD has a talent advantage. I would go player for player with the top 4 or 5 corps.
Everybody seems to really like coats show this year. at least in it's current state i was literally sad watching it. I didn't like it at all. I'm pretty happy to see so many people excited about it.
I think that Coats have about the only chance to beat BD (sorry Boston folks) Crown is just the same-o, same-o. If PR was a little older (member wise) they could take a run at 4th. At 6th or 5th Vanguard may not be high enough for the Sanford (not always a concern but could be this year with BD and Boston playing so well) All of this is just my way too early not having watched enough shows opinion I may be wrong.
No matter who wins, I don't think anyone will run away with this. BD is not as crazy good as they were say in like 2022 when it wasn't even remotely close and it was clear from June who was going to win.
There's a baroque brass ensemble right before, and pokemon music sort of follows those same writing style rules, so maybe it's to show the evolution of romantic music over time? Idk, that or maybe BD just needed a feature that would make for a nice tiktok-length clip.
U think that this years top 4 corps, will be the exact same as last year? In the exact same order? The choice is urs. But even mathematically that’s a looonnnggg shot.
Thanks for all of your commentary and educated guesses. I agree with all of it, except I see Crown in 2nd. I think they have a ton of room to grow, and that is not to say the other groups dont. I can see where they left a lot of room for layers and changes. For instance, the closer feels very incomplete and you can feel they are going yo turn it into something magnificent.
Ugh if the Blue Devils win again I think I might be done with Drum Corp. What is the point if no one else ever wins. The shows already look all the same these days.
As a fan of the bluecoats, I really just do not like the ending. I’d personally like the show to end on a super powerful chord, unlike what we have which is just some weird notes from pit haha I enjoy the rest of the show still, but not as much as last years. If they change the closer, I think it has a lot of potential
@@MuttModeler yeah I’m aware They’re probably changing the closer like they usually do each year, just stating what I think was odd with the show. I’m already pretty chill rn
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Vanguard is no doubt saving some much needed money by not pouring cash into a prop rig this year. Smart.
@JaydenLacroixthat makes sense. recurring costs like transportation, food, personnel are usually more expensive in the long run than the one time fee of producing props and unis
@JaydenLacroix is it still less than 5% if they'd need to rent another semi trailer truck just for props? (more gas, renting a truck, truck driver, etc.) I don't actually know how much that costs though
@@mom-gq9ek don’t forget insurance!
I think transportation of giant props is also very pricey
@@adrianacrespo8311it’s a percentage of the overall travel cost. It saves money, but it depends on the props. There have definitely been lighter or more collapsible/disassembling props that fit in the existing equipment trucks, and there are some props that take up a ton of space. I think the main thing to think about, is that vanguard could have like 1 cool prop at an essentially negligible cost, so their choice of no props is a *Choice* and you shouldn’t just attribute it to cost saving.
“Blue Devils are really good this year. I think they’ll 4-peat”
Proceeds to get the lowest score and lowest placement they’ve had in 18 years.
Pretty cool that 3rd place is their lowest placement in 18 years 👀
@@funlinerproductions7071you know you cook when 97 is an all time low
@@funlinerproductions7071for sure. Every empire must fall eventually, 18 years at the top is crazy impressive. I just wanted to get your goat for getting your prediction very wrong.
I’m more excited that more groups are at BDs level in terms of being strong across the entire sheet not just really strong in specific areas. I could easily see BD getting third and not winning every other year as being a norm throughout the 2020s if things stay as they are. Obviously they’ll still win but not quite as often,
Is he eating his words yet? Bluecoats just snapped BD win streak at DCI Southwest and have beaten BD and Boston by almost 2 points. Bluecoats all the way baby. Go Blooo.
Really goes to show how randomly predicting is random. You can’t predict anything in the most subjective sport ever.
I hate to be that guy but Bluecoats first broke the streak at Broken Arrow not Southwest. Source: I was there
but also acknowledge how he got the final scores pretty close! he made great points and it’s so cool because he admitted he didn’t want bd to win again!
Imma guess you didn't watch the whole vid before typing that up. Also, he made this pretty early on...
Hearing him say he wants BD to be 4th is very funny to me. I don't know why.
I just wasn't expecting him to say that.
He almost got his wish
I'm still sad about Cadets.🤦♂️🤎💫
I've noticed that there are quite a few corps doing some variation of the z-pull this year. I wonder if these are intentional homages to the Cadets. It's bittersweet, but it reminds me that the Cadets' DNA is intrinsically intertwined into all of modern drum corps. Whether they themselves are on the field or not, they are still with us in some small way.
What happened to them???
@@stkchris5685 They declared bankruptcy, and the organization has folded permanently.
@@stkchris5685 who's gonna tell him?
@@stkchris5685 cadets shut down. They’re gone for good
The bluecoats show is rare. And the props kinda remind me about the last year's Blue Devils. They have the echoing strike from the horns at the beginning leading to the increase of the horns and the battery along with this marching type vibe And above all the show goes into full mode. And midway through the show there was the Echoes of the trumpets. Kind of reminding me of the 2021 show Lucy. And when they get to the horns part in the fast tempo after the drumset goes into full mode, It reminds me of 2018 when they did the tuba feature. Skipping to the ending there's this vocoeding sound. And it goes back into the trombone sound all of a sudden there it goes further until absolute silence and that's how the show ends.
i watched this video when it came out and it was so fun to come back and see these predictions as i think i like the real standings a whole lot better 😭😭😭
I think that BD and Coats will come down to the membership at BD. You and I both remember how 2016 went, and there are some similarities to the vibes between the two groups in that bluecoats seem to be out to prove a point, and blue devils have a much more aggressive show visually following two wins(that pattern scares me for obvious reasons of 13 and 16). Discipline from devs membership to not get complacent will be paramount. I think bluecoats have an incredible vehicle and have much better visual instruction than back when we marched, and Kevin has their brass sounding very refined, which again is much diffent than Derek’s lines that leaned more into the energy side of approach. I think that Devs are set up to sweep captions this year, but that doesn’t take away from just how incredible the bluecoats production is both from design and the members buy in.
I think vanguard has a much higher ceiling than people are still expecting. Tanner has that brass on fire, and I think if any corps is going to do well without props, it’ll be one with a show designed by Dan Morrison. He came in and set a BOA record score with Regan in San Antonio a few years ago amongst the best bands in the country with lots of money for props. Him and Gaines together will have a high ceiling for GE without the extra visual aesthetics because of their ability to create motion and stage and how well vanguard has danced since 2018.
I think Bostons show is going to kill them down the road in GE and I could see the sub captions working out to where vanguard could creep ahead of them. The book is too broken up and it feels like there’s not the same flow in the music ensemble pacing that vanguard has.
Crown will be a solid third, I love the show but doesn’t have the legs of the top 2, and depending on what they do with it, I think the closer is not going to help them without major revisions.
How about phantom?
This is a really solid take
Obviously Crown will have major closer revisions, they basically don’t have a closer.
I haven’t read all that but I already agree that it’ll come down to membership , I called it before season starting checking out the “rosters” of both of those groups
My current finals prediction after seeing the summer music games in Murfreesboro.
1. Bloo
2. Boston
3. BD
4. Phantom
5. Crown
6. Mandarins
7. SCV
8. Blue stars
9. Cavies
10. Troopers
11. Colts
12. Scouts
just finished watching finals. this prediction was INSANELY close. you got the entire top 5 right congrats dude
To explain coast show a little bit they’re using entropy to convey their theme, or rather the idea of entropy. Entropy atleast in chemistry is how disordered something is so things with high entropy are like gases because their molecules are really spread out and not orderly. I really see what they’re doing with the choreo and music arrangements to convey the change is everything idea. Side note I think just like BD and coats are gonna fight it out this year I think boston and crown are gonna fight too I believe boston has a more all around corps from percussion to color guard and their brass has been growing over the past 2 years. This years gonna be fun to watch.
10:56 SOUNDS LIKE SECOND PLACE TO ME 🔥🗣️‼️
SOUNDS LIKE THIRD TO ME🔥🗣️
Here are some of my “too early to predict but I’m a nerd so I’m going to do it anyways” thoughts.
7th - Mandarins
I have to agree with you here! These top seven spots are going to be REALLY tight. With SCV back and how aggressive Phantom started their season, this feels right. Probably the most fun show of the year so far in my opinion!
6- Phantom
In my eyes, fifth and six is going to be a MASSIVE fight between SCV and Phantom. Wouldn’t be surprised to see them switching throughout the seasons, even during finals weekend. The reason Phantom sixth is because I feel that they don’t do a great job at developing their show throughout the season. They clean things up and get better of course, but they rarely change up their show at all or adapt. Best solo/duet of the year here
5- SCV
I was genuinely shocked to see how naturally SCV fit right back in this year. It’s like they never left! Wouldn’t be surprised to see them take back the Sanford. I’m a huge fan of the sampling! United in Grief is one of my favorite songs so I’m a little biased though.
4- Boston
4th just feels safe for this corps and for this show. It has potential of course, but I feel like Boston has been playing things safe. I could even see this dipping down into 5th if SCV really steps up their game. Tons of talent, but not a show with much depth to it.
3- Crown
As much as I’d love to see a Crown Championship again, this doesn’t feel like the year. It feels like a bit of a step up from last year, but not enough of a step to separate themselves. A very safe show for crown to do from a design standpoint, but the music and visual components of this show are a step in the right direction. It’ll be SUPER close, but as it stand, I’m not going to be giving to Ott to crown.
2- Bluecoats
This show feels so familiar and yet so new and refreshing for the Bluecoats. It’s like a trip back to the 2016-2018 era of Bluecoats but with more of their signature modern flair. Like the Blue Devils, I see this show scoring a lot of 1st and 2nds in individual captions. Every section is strong. I see this show winning the Donald Angelica.
1- Blue Devils
I don’t even want them to win. They keep winning. I want to see other corps win. However, my god, the Blue Devils win for a reason. They have just been progressively getting better and better with every season post Covid. That being said, I think the Bluecoats COULD give them a run for their money, or at least keep them on their toes. I could see them getting a little TOO complacent later in the season which could kill them. I don’t this show will end up scoring AS high as the Cutouts did, but it’ll likely be in that 98 range by finals night. I see BD winning the Ott, Zingali, and Brazale.
Feel free to let me know what you think. Again, all of this is WAY too early to legitimately predict, but it’s fun to talk about.
Well said!
I can definitely tell bluecoats are coming to win this year
LOVE their show this year
Bluecoats will win. Their new ending is epic. They have a grand finale plus a glorious coda. They end as they began. The music is thrilling and challenging for the player and listener.
I think Blue Devils has an excellent show concept this year and that means they are going to have a decent chance at a 4-peat. However, I think the Bluecoats have super strong sections as well, and they are the only group who can possibly also win the championship.
Super excited for my local show on July 26th!!! I'm in love with the level of creativity and achievement we're already seeing this season. It's crazy!! Thanks for the video, and I'm looking forward to the content by the end of the season!
Your prediction sounds spot on. We'll recap after either southwest or southeast championship.
Waiting for the reaction video of the Coats finals 👀
8:58 - Mandarins in 1996-1999 in Div III four-peated. This wouldn't be DCI's first four-peat. This would, however, be the first in current world class.
I will wait until the Southeastern Championship to make my prediction
I'm waiting till semis to make mine🤣
@@builderphil13I’ll wait till finals to make mine
The blue coats show gives me downside up vibes- this might just be wishful thinking but I hope this is the show to knock off the blue devils
Yeah
I believe dude
Downside up was actually good. This isn’t
@@UbuntuBanksie a lot of people felt that way about 2016 bloo early season but as the season went on they warmed up to it, i think that as they change the show throughout the season more people will begin to like it.
BD’s costumes and use of color is amazing. But their show design falls flat this year-much inferior to Cutouts. BD should be 4th this year. Bloo, BAC, and Crown are bringing it hard visually and musically. BD not as much this year-music book is too segmented and visual design is nonexistent.
Mandies already have the first and only DCI 4peat championships in any class.
SCV is so smart. I'm loving the traditional look with no props. Good to have them back. Mandarins and marching trombones changes the whole sound of the music sounds amassing. BD was so mid and a yawn fest. I hope they don't win this season.
BD was mid? lol
@@KNX-pf1rp of course theyre clean as always, but their show to me kinda felt like the exact same formatting as 23, with a general tone closer to crown's 23 show
i personally think last years show is just more interesting, at least comparing to this years show as it is now, but some of that is just because i personally really like more major/bright toned shows
@@Zyluki The show is meant to be darker.
@@KNX-pf1rp and i quote "personally really like more major/bright toned shows"
as in, i know its supposed to be darker...
Wheres the co-hosts?
OK just re-watched to both BD and Bluecoats from the most recent competition and here is another take: I like the overall sound of BD a bit better, but at least on this night, the energy of the Bluecoats brass was overwhelming. They deserved the caption. From a GE/Visual standpoint, I'm not as big a fan of the much larger reliance on electronics that Bluecoats have moved to in the last few years - but it sure fit in well with their show. I think one thing that might be working a bit against BD from a GE/Visual standpoint, is that the music itself is pretty "dark" for the first portion of the show and the drill mirrors it - in contrast the entire Bluecoats book is very "uplifting". Maybe somehow given all the negative crap we have going on in the world this year, an overall uplifting show just resonates slightly better. I'm not a percussion expert (although I was a jazz drummer at one point), but it does seem like the Bluecoats show itself shows off their drumline a bit better. From an execution standpoint I think its a toss-up actually. I do think the BD show as a whole is very well put together (I've seen it 4 times now and it's always like "wait, are we already at the closer? Wow that went by fast!", and for me I do like the brass sound just a bit better - but the Bluecoats have latched on to a psychological factor that I think is significant and their execution is just outstanding.
Phantom came out of the gates strong last year, and I expect them to peak early and get passed mid-season just like last year with Cadets and Mandarins. SCV might grab that 5th spot solely because of their percussion because I think Mandarins have way more room to grow overall. Mandarins will just have to really clean up musically to get 5th. I agree with your top 4 - BD is winning again!
Been waiting to hear from you! Can’t wait to sit down and listen to this!
really hoping to see the guys do reaction vids to this year’s shows!!
After just watching the troopers live, they have a really good chance at top 5, they need to work on some things obviously but their show is amazing. Better than last year and honestly the best show I have seen in person.
While the battles through are great, I’m over here hoping the Scouts finally return to finals night . The battle for 12th is what I’ve been paying attention to.
I’m a Blue Devil fan forever? Why? Guess because I played Tenors all 4 years in high school. Second my drum instructor was Steve Campbell-27th Lancers-81-83 and BD 84-86. He was center snare when BD percussion won 4th consecutive Sanford under the direction of Tom Float! Plus Scojo worked with us tenors on a school visit to see Campbell and us!
Dude. Maybe no “way too early” predictions in 2025…😮 Fair play for casting the dice though.
What would be really cool is if the Bluecoats wore that drum major outfit at their uniform.
I came to the same conclusion as you -- like it or not, BD is probably going to win again. I mean, they just ARE. I like the Bluecoats show a lot, so I agree with 2nd. Phantom Regiment has really come out HOT from what I've seen -- hope they can keep up that momentum and energy. Top 5 for sure!
Hear me out
1. Blue Devils
2. Bluecoats
3. Boston Crusaders
4. Carolina Crown
5. Santa Clara Vanguard
6. Phantom Regiment
7. Mandarins
SCV having no props but making up for it in visual performance makes their show somewhat harder than Phantom and Mandarins imo. Also I’d LOVE to see Crown get top 3 but their brass lines are incredibly challenging and could allow room for small errors. BD is just so good at balancing a clean and difficult performance year after year. Definitely can see a 4-peat happening
I can agree with this statement. I really think Vanguard has a drive to be top five and they have one of the strongest horn lines and percussion sections in years.
I think SCV vs Phantom will be a much closer race this season than with the Mandarins, but Phantom is out for top 5 this season, once their brass gets that triple tongue section cleaned they're gonna make a huge jump
Valid ranking tbh
Flip Vanguard with Mandarins and I'm in alignment.
I really think there will be a fight for top 2 and it’s going to be close like 2019. Seeing bluecoats in person at their preview show and then watching it on stream afterwards, a lot of the electronic effects got lost and were not nearly as effective. The opener is incredibly striking and reminded me of the 2014 pitch bend with just how awesome it was, but it was not conveyed on the recording as well. I am excited to see all of the corps live later this year in Allentown, but both bluecoats and blue devils have wicked good shows right out of the gates and it’s going to be a crazy close fight.
Hey Funliner...curious what your take is now - I agree with @bdfan4ever, seems 3rd is likely. Just saw them live in Ft. Collins and I actually LOVED the show - brass was amazing, percussion amazing, color guard, well - we did have some renegade hoops running all over the place :). Then I compared recaps to the other shows that night. Holy crap. Then Blue Coats the next night. ~3 points difference? Crown drumline matching BD? Uh....something seems slightly amiss here. I watched what I could of the other shows on TH-cam and I really like Boston and 'Coats, but I just don't see that much of a spread between BD and the Blue Coats. The latter opening hit has technically harder brass parts, but I'm just not seeing why the huge difference in scoring on brass and on GE. The BD show seemed to fly by, I kept checking my watch just a bit watching Boston and the Blue Coats. Enjoyed all three a ton though. I'm not much of a conspiracy guy, but seems like powers that be definitely don't want a 4-peat. Can't say that I blame them, better for the activity as a whole to have competition at the top, I'd just like it to be real, not manufactured.
Btw - Vanguard was there in Ft. Collins also and their percussion is legit. As usual. And a tip of the cowboy hat to the Troopers. Best show in years.
Btw, I would like to add that the blue devils music this year is my favorite book in YEARS. It’s been on repeat for the past few weeks. But it’s the visuals that are holding them back.
Well looks like my prediction is going to come true - latest competition "Innovations in Brass" in Ohio, BD is a solid 3rd. And 4th in GE holy cow! When's the last time that happened?7/10ths to catch Boston seems like a lot to make up during championship week. Funliner - your comment about there being "just too much talent across the captions" (or something to that effect) so even if they aren't first across the board they will still win I think is correct - just seems like it applies to the Bluecoats this year, not BD. Seems Bluecoats are poised to win Brass, GE and Drums. Wow. Good for them. It's about time.
@@tadfrysinger4744 what struck me was how he couldn’t see the deficiencies in the blue devils design. When j first saw the cut outs, I knew nobody would touch them. This year has been a clunky design mess. BUT…that music book: EASILY my favorite since methods of madness.
I actually really heavily agree with this prediction. I would say my only thing is I think second third and fourth are pretty accurate but I do think it’s a good idea to throw in that I think they’re gonna be a tossup again I think they’re going to go back-and-forth throughout the season just like they did last year, and who knows I mean we could maybe see that happening with the blue Devils but like you said they are really strong this year in every caption and that’s the only thing I think I might not agree with is the brass award I very heavily see Crown buffing in their book again. But even then, just after watching them both, I feel like crowns slightly cleaner right off the bat musically but like you said that could change, so here’s my prediction.
1. Blue devils
2. Carolina crown
3. Bluecoats
4. Boston crusaders
5. Phantom regiment
6. Vanguard
7. Mandarins
Once again, like you said, that’s kind of where I think it’s going to be once again, I think, especially crown and blue coats, especially are going to go back-and-forth all season, and then I also want to say same thing for Vanguard and mandarins so those are my placement positions really pretty similar to what you had. I just have crown bluecoats flipped but really if I would say, I probably put the More as equal right now. Because they both have different categories that are stronger than others, so those two are hard to put together now for individual captions.
Guard. Boston crusaders
Percussion. BD or Vanguard
Visual. BD
Brass. Carolina crown or Blue Devils
To start off visual and guard I agree with pretty heavily on what you said I think percussion right now both blue Devils in vanguard are pretty close in that caption. So right now in my opinion, it’s really hard to say on that one and even in guard, I think blue Devils could come up or even crown I mean crown has won a couple guard awards before so it’s hard to say. visual, That’s an easy one blue Devils are going to take that they always have a very strong visual performance and I think there is no doubt that they will end up taking visual this year brass is hard to say because at least right now based on the first performance of both they were tied and that’s why I’m saying it could be back-and-forth like you said, if crown buffs up their book again I could see crown taken it, but it could go back-and-forth
So there’s my opinion, please don’t argue with it it’s just my opinion again this is like he said very early on in the season. It’s hard to say right now I think a lot of these are going to go back-and-forth all season long. I were going to see corps change positions and caption awards and all of it so that’s my final say will see how right or wrong I am
Blue.....coats! So surreal!
I was so shocked that BD was strong so early in the season, that I can't wait to see how the other corps catch up. But I see BD, Bluecoats, Crown and Boston tying for 3rd, SCV for 5th. The Colts show is surprisingly good too. I also feel in order for Bluecoats to take a win this season, seeing that their show is Change is Everything, we will need to SEE an unexpected change visually to take them over the top. With no backdrops or props that may be hard.
My prediction and hope for every corps is that they add more drill.
Coming from a SCV fan, I actually think BD percussion is going to take it this year. Lots of different interpretations and sound in the percussion ensemble. I can’t wait till the San Antonio show!
Mandies having a marching trombone line is not talked about enough. Very different!
In 2018 they ONLY marched bones for the entire show - no baris and euphs.
Heard Scojo say on a podcast that since he is into statistics, he noticed there has never been a year since the 90's, the Blue Devils won percussion but did not win the show.
So, if they win percussion, Blue Devils win the show.
@@jackwong2917I read the op as saying it’s the other way around. Win Percussion>Win the trophy. The past 3 season was the opposite and still supports what the op is saying.
@jackwong2917 the statement is not if they won the show, they win the Sanford. The statement is historically, the years they won the Sanford, they also won the show. 1994, 1997, 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2015 they won the Sanford, and every single time they won the Sanford, the Blue Devils also won the championship.
Just throwing this out there…Mandarins 4-peat in D3 ‘96-99 so not ALL of drum corps ;)
Seeing the season right now, locking in on my first prediction that Bloo on top AND BAC 3rd
I really dislike blue devils show this year. The design feels very muddy like it’s trying to be too many things. There’s also barely any dynamic contrast in the music cause it’s all just loud. They never give the crowd any time to take in what they are doing. It feels flat and like it’s just to impress judges
This aged well.
My early predictions, 6 days after this video and now that a lot more corps have finally made their debut (even though Splanta, Crossmen, and music city all went to a show that didnt release any scores for some reason . . .) are:
1. BD (i dont WANT them too, but unfortunately, until we see Bloo perform again at Whitewater tonight to get a more accurate comparison, BD looks not very touchable rn. Agree with a lot of what was said in the video)
2. Bluecoats. I do think that 1st and 2nd will be very close though, with 3rd less so.
3. Crown
4. Boston. Similarly with 1st vs 2nd, i think 3rd vs 4th will be super tight, and it already is! Boston holds the lead for now but I do think Crown has a more sound show, the brass is too phenomenal this year, and their guard has really taken a step up from last year to challenge Boston's own great guard. all of the top 4 will be a very tight and hectic race this season and i'm excited to watch it!
5. I think Phantom stands alone very firmly in 5th with not much challenge from other corps, but similarly the talent above them would be difficult to reach. Amazing show this year once again, almost certain it will win "Fan favorite" once again and they'll get their own 4-peat lmao
6. Here's where it gets tough. as of July 5th, Mandarins has actually pulled ahead of SCV, and Cavies are tied with SCV. I genuinely believe the race for 6th will be even more competitive than who wins 1st this year. And that's exciting. I will say, the Midwest show on the 5th had some extremely questionably judging so that throws stuff for a loop rn. I do personally still think SCV could potentially come out on top?? they have a more competitive music book than say Mandarins for example, but one can't help but wonder how much the lack of props will continue to slightly harm their overall GE as the season continues, even if having no props is the point of their brilliant show design. I say SCV 6th but I would however not be one bit surprised if it was lost to either Mandarins or even Cavaliers.
7. Hot take but I do think Cavaliers has a strong shot at landing 7th this year. So does Mandarins, dont get me wrong, but that's why we do these "way too early predictions" in the first place lol. Cavaliers percussion once again is just out of this world, and single-handedly carrying the corps just like last season, but their brass isn't playing around this year either and is standing solid at 6th as of July 5th, and their guard has stepped up a lot from last season too. They feel a lot more well-rounded compared to last year, and their concept/design is a lot deeper than last years show and that could take them places.
8. Mandarins. Nothing to say other than a repeat of the last 2 placements. these 3 corps could all easily land anywhere from 6th-8th and im all for it.
9. Another tight race between 9th and 10th but I think Colts will come on top by the end of the season. They're on a similar trajectory from the prior season, as well as on trajectory to beat last season's score of 90.263, which was not only a Corps record highest score, but DCI record highest 9th place finish score.
10. Blue Stars. Also having a very similar trajectory to last year, they're starting out the season fairly strong, but I can't help but admit it's likely because of lower content score comparatively. Blue Stars are hella clean for what they have right now, but that's also the problem, and what caused them to fall to 11th last season. If they can make consistent improvements to the show then hey they might surprise me and topple Colts this year, though as a Colts alum that would make me sad lol. I do think 9th-10th could very easily sway either way, especially with Blue stars being in the lead as of now, and having only lost the lead to Calts a single time so far this season and by only like .2 or .3 points or something like that.
11. Troopers. Troopers opening up not as strong as I was expecting this year. I haven't watched their full show yet, but from the clips I have seen I do definitely prefer the overall ambition and show design of the previous season. I definitely think they have nothing to worry about though, it's still a very solid group this year, their brass sounds the best they have ever sounded this early in the season and it's seriously not even remotely close (and their score of 14.9 reflects that!! - even if i don't personally agree with it) and they should very solidly be in at LEAST 12th place this season. Though i definitely believe they will slot in 11th no problem.
12th - now for 12th i have no prediction. there are too many corps that could potentially score around here this early in the season, and with crossmen and music city remaining unscored after their debut shows, it's truly hard to say. I do say it's extremely exciting that Madison Scouts is holding the honor right now, and is sitting only a tenth behind Troop! but Crossmen is 100% coming out swinging this year, and they sound like they're tired of missing Finals by one placement. Score-wise BK isn't competing for 12th rn, but I also haven't seen their show whatsoever so I cannot speak on whether there's a ton of room for improvement just like last season. I do think the Northwest Music games had some unnecessarily tough judging for some reason and similar to Troopers, it is entirely possibly their score could also be underwhelming and not truthfully reflective of the performance. All i know is 12th place is once again going to be an exciting race just like it always is!
Anyways if you got this far, would like to reiterate this are purely subjective opinions very early in the season, from someone who hasn't seen every single show, nor seen any corps live! (yet!) Only video feed so far. Take it with a grain of salt.
Haha, July 6th scores coming out, still patiently waiting for DCI West to wrap up to see where BD lands after Bluecoats took a fairly decent lead tonight, and Colts shoot way ahead of Blue Stars again by almost 2 full points! This is EXACTLYY the type of super close back and forth competition i was referring to in my original comment. Super super excited for the rest of this season!! I think the thing I am most excited for is that it seems like Bloo has an extremely genuine chance to win the gold this year. It looks like they're the only ones with a shot of stealing the title from BD as of right now. Phantom further cementing themselves into 5th by shooting far ahead of the competition behind them (and even ahead of Crown and Boston's really old July 2nd scores, which is impressive though we know that won't last but one more competition) I'm standing ever more firm in my predictions as of now for everything but that 6-8th place. Can't take back what I said but I think I should have went with my gut bc I was very heavily debating making a suuuper hot take and saying Cavies in 6th instead of Vanguard! Again, we will have to wait for DCI West to finish their competition first.
The bluecoats only get away with being red to me because of their theme
just saw the broken arrow shows and phantom absolutely stole the crowd tonight, definitely the audience favorite. followed closely by the blue coats
Nah, BAC and Bloo crowd was way louder. Phantom fans are just rabid and refuse to acknowledge any other show as being good.
Not aging well
Bro did not cook
I would say Blue devils across the board every section color guard you name it everything!!!
Looking for BD percussion 🥁 to win a Sanford this year! Go Blue Devils! BD or SCV in percussion 🥁 but I’ve given my opinion!
PERCUSSION: SCV-CLEAN, BD-PISS CLEAN FOR THE WIN 🥇 🏆😎👏🏻👍🏻🤙🏻🥁🔥
Blue devils sound great! The drill looks like a mess at this point. IMO, the capes look cool on each performer, but collectively muddies up the field. For what they do, I guess they are great, but the Bluecoats are leading the way for DCI innovation. Blue Devils...same ol, same old. At some point, it matters.
glazing is wild
Any early season hornline reactions/general show reactions coming up? Curious to see what you say about each corps this year so far
Bluecoats 2nd... BLASPHEMY!!!!
I easily predicted 2 things before you got past SCV. 1) you wouldn’t understand Boston’s show and would have them 4th or 5th and 2) BD wins it all.
While I don’t disagree that Blue Devils are excellent, the BD fatigue is real and it’s palpable all throughout the fan base. Maybe DCI needs to start instituting an NFL-style salary cap to help even the playing field. Something…anything…
Would salary cap be on the staff spending?
@@RatSlayerGaming I dunno. Staff. Props. The chow wagon. I’m just throwing a dumb idea out there, I have no clue how to implement it…🤣
nice evaluation
I think we do know how the season will end
DCI judging seems to have a predetermined pecking order with a corps history being the determining factor in scoring. They tease us with an occasional contender like the Bluecoats, Carolina and Boston but Blue Devils seem like the judges favorites. The best performers are attracted to the Blue Devils because they feel their will be a guarantee of winning a championship. At the same time the Blue Devils shows feels like eating at Taco Bell, the menu items have the same ingredients. The shows feel formulaic without much that seems unique. There will always be fans and apologists of the Blue Devils.
nice to see a stop to the glazing. good on you sir.
i’m bored so my honest opinions on all shows
(before you start yelling at me that i’m wrong: i don’t care if you think im wrong)
BD: tbh i think it’s too similar to 2023 and i guess just because 23’ was my first year in the dci fan base i loved bd bc im guard and horn and they excelled at both, but it feels to similarly aesthetically, the theme, and the field of the show
Bloo: love it love it love it i like the audio samples, i didn’t like bloo much last year just because the show felt a little disjointed, but the theme is so good and i like the uniforms
Crown: as a huge crown fan, favorite show, i know that they’re going to beef up their book later so im not gonna talk about brass but they’re guard is amazing, i like the theme, the drill is cool, i like fire, and i think there going to be a huge fan favorite this year
BAC: ngl haven’t seen them play even in a video yet so im gonna stand back on the music and the drill, i don’t like the theme, i think there’s not much depth to it
SCV and Mandies: haven’t looked at it
but hot take:
i didn’t like mandies much last year i loved take me to church but the rest of the show felt like filler and the props felt gimmicky
Phantom: only seen a very little but but i like the props mostly and i like the theme
DISCLAIMER; i haven’t seen any of these shows in full and these are VERY subject to change
The Romantics is 2019 part 4. I am a Blue Devils fan and I am BORED. Bluecoats show is just SOOOoooooo innovative and I see that show having a lot more potential to grow. I absolutely hated Bluecoats 2023, but this year is just different.
I don't see that at all. This show sounds, looks and feels completely different from the past 2 years imo
L take, while yes BD does similar shows, saying they've all been the same is just lazy and untrue. They have a certain style, yes, but this year especially is clearly different from the past year, not nearly as like upbeat and much more melodic and less "runny" if that makes sense
I hear the word “innovative” being tossed around too much with Bloo’s show. While I do think it’s quite entertaining, I can point to each part of this year’s show and tell you where they’ve done that before. BD as well. BD will probably win because of talent at every level/caption.
@@rygregoryas a bloo fan i sadly agree. the talent at bd is almost unmatched :/ 99% sure they’ll win just based on that
Have you seen BD live? Honestly held this opinion by seeing them on low bit rate streams and vids but live, their shows are impactful.
You can see and hear confidence the way they move and play. Performers almost constantly have some sort of high demand whether it is a dense chord or musical statement, choreography, staging, or a big drill move. It feels like everything in the show has a purpose and naturally draws your attention to place on the field where the action is going on.
12:23 good brass n show? Naaahh, SOUNDS LIKE 3RD PLACE
It’s looking like a 3rd place or 4th place year for them. I’m gonna disagree with you. The visuals are just muddy and all over the place. But man, do I LOVE their musical book. I get goosebumps. But visually it’s just not up to par.
Update, 3rd place still looking possible after tonight.
Update again, yup, so far bronze.
Update, 4th in GE to Phantom.
Nah guys cmon, we all know Cavies is getting the gold this year💀
Sadly, Cavies show is a mess IMHO.
One can only wish 😅
Watching it at cavalcade hurt
@@lukebrueggemann1674 it hurt my soul.
Bias really showing in this video after seeing the actual results.
This didn't age well LOL
11:28 i watched the show live and i think it's dumb that i need to have the show explained to me because it made no sense lol
Bluecoats are cooking 🙏
I’m shocked how high SCV scored. They were average
Crazier Prediction, there's gonna be two 99 scores this year
When is the first look reaction videos?
Its sad, but you are right about BD. Why bother even having the competition? I will disagree with you that BD has a talent advantage. I would go player for player with the top 4 or 5 corps.
any thoughts on BDB?
Yes, I’d like to know your thoughts on BDB, as well.
Need a reacts to BD 2018 Dreams and Nighthawks🙏
When are you guys going to react to a video?
I think you need to update predictions before Texas.
1. Devils, 2. Bluecoats, 3. Boston, 4. Crown, 5. Mandarins, 6. Regiment, 7. Vanguard
Everybody seems to really like coats show this year. at least in it's current state i was literally sad watching it. I didn't like it at all. I'm pretty happy to see so many people excited about it.
He back!!
Hey you’re alive!
I want the Blue Devils to loose SOOOOOOO BADDDDD!!! But they are just too good this year. Idk bro this is hard!
I think that Coats have about the only chance to beat BD (sorry Boston folks) Crown is just the same-o, same-o. If PR was a little older (member wise) they could take a run at 4th. At 6th or 5th Vanguard may not be high enough for the Sanford (not always a concern but could be this year with BD and Boston playing so well) All of this is just my way too early not having watched enough shows opinion I may be wrong.
Don’t forget that Cavies won the drum trophy last year and placed 8th overall!
No matter who wins, I don't think anyone will run away with this. BD is not as crazy good as they were say in like 2022 when it wasn't even remotely close and it was clear from June who was going to win.
What does Pokémon have to do with the romantic period lol
There's a baroque brass ensemble right before, and pokemon music sort of follows those same writing style rules, so maybe it's to show the evolution of romantic music over time? Idk, that or maybe BD just needed a feature that would make for a nice tiktok-length clip.
BD sound like 2nd place (so far 💀😭)
Well this didnt age well.
BLUECOATS AND BOSTON GOT YOU RAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
THOSE HOES LOCKED IN AND GOT THE HIGHEST SCORES IN THEIR HISTORY RAHHHHHHHH
Personally I think spirit makes a return to finals in 12th place
Crown gets brass, BD gets drums, SCV disappoints, other than that not sure yet.
I am really curious, what are your thoughts on PC?
U think that this years top 4 corps, will be the exact same as last year? In the exact same order? The choice is urs. But even mathematically that’s a looonnnggg shot.
Surf 1st place 🎉
Bluecoats battery is for sure better than BD.
Thanks for all of your commentary and educated guesses. I agree with all of it, except I see Crown in 2nd. I think they have a ton of room to grow, and that is not to say the other groups dont. I can see where they left a lot of room for layers and changes. For instance, the closer feels very incomplete and you can feel they are going yo turn it into something magnificent.
Ugh if the Blue Devils win again I think I might be done with Drum Corp. What is the point if no one else ever wins. The shows already look all the same these days.
As a fan of the bluecoats, I really just do not like the ending. I’d personally like the show to end on a super powerful chord, unlike what we have which is just some weird notes from pit haha
I enjoy the rest of the show still, but not as much as last years. If they change the closer, I think it has a lot of potential
lol you need to chill and not worry about the bluecoats show (ie closer). The Bluecoats haven't even performed in 1 contest yet lol
@@MuttModeler yeah I’m aware
They’re probably changing the closer like they usually do each year, just stating what I think was odd with the show. I’m already pretty chill rn
well it looked like they werent done with the show yet because the perc was lined up at the front like there was about to be a drum break
they didn't even perform the whole show lol
@@marisolbecerra06 oh really? I wasn’t aware
Might be a pretty long show then because it was like 12 minutes already with 1 movement missing