GEM's Crystal Ball: 2022 DCI Week 2 Finals Predictions
Week 2 is complete and GEM is here to provide our predictions!
Week 2 saw the additions of Carolina Crown, The Cadets, Blue Knights, Madison Scouts, and the Colts to the competitive field.
Once corps have competed at a show, they are eligible for the Power Rankings. Preview shows and/or leaked videos are not taken into account for the Power Rankings.
GEM writers and contributors were asked to rank the top 15 competing corps, regardless of class, based on where they predicted the corps would end up on Saturday night, August 14, 2022. Voters also picked which corps they thought would win each of the five caption performance awards.
1. Blue Devils (65% first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 1 ↔
The Blue Devils have started the 2022 season with three straight wins, most recently besting the Santa Clara Vanguard by 1.4 and taking all captions except the Percussion caption
2. Bluecoats (10% first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: 2 ↔
The Bluecoats took the overall Visual caption by .05 but fell to Carolina Crown in their first head-to-head matchup by .450.
3. Carolina Crown (25% first-place votes)
Previous Ranking: NR ↑
Debuting in Muncie, IN, Carolina Crown took two of three music captions, color guard, and overall General Effect in their first victory over Bluecoats since 2017 at Innovations in Brass: Northeast Ohio on July 2nd.
Previous Ranking: 3 ↓
Boston Crusaders took all captions in a 3.450 spread over The Cadets in Lynn, MA.
Previous Ranking: 4 ↓
The four-time defending winner of the Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award, SCV took the Percussion caption over Blue Devils by .300 in Tempe, AZ after losing to Blue Devils in percussion at the previous competition by .2.
Previous Ranking: 5 ↓
The Cavaliers jumped 3.2 points from their July 1st performance in Muncie, IN to a 73.400 at the Cavalcade of Brass in Lisle, IL.
7. The Cadets
Previous Ranking: NR ↑
Debuting at The East Coast Classic in Quincy, MA, The Cadets increased their score from 69.150 to 71.350 at The Beanpot in Lynn, MA.
8. Blue Stars
Previous Ranking: 7 ↓
Blue Stars scored a convincing win over the Madison Scouts at the Rotary Music Festival winning all but the Percussion caption, losing for the second time in a row to the Scouts.
9. Mandarins
Previous Ranking: 8 ↓
Mandarins did not compete in Week 2.
10. Phantom Regiment
Previous Ranking: 9 ↓
Phantom Regiment last competed on July 1 in Muncie, IN. As part of Phantom Regiment's ongoing COVID mitigation protocols, the corps performed a standstill performance at Drums on Parade and withdrew from the Cavalcade of Brass.
11. Blue Knights
Previous Ranking: NR ↑
Debuting at Drums Across the Desert in Tempe, AZ, Blue Knights placed a consistent third in all captions scoring 7.350 behind SCV and 3.2 above The Academy.
12. Crossmen
Previous Ranking: 10 ↓
Crossmen jumped almost five points from their June 28th performance in Detroit, MI to a 68.250 at the Calvacade of Brass in Lisle, IL.
13. Madison Scouts
Previous Ranking: NR ↑
The Madison Scouts debuted at Drums on Parade in Madison, WI finishing fourth overall but placing third in Brass & Music Analysis and second in percussion.
14. Colts
Previous Ranking: NR ↑
Colts jumped 3.5 points from their July 1st performance in Muncie, IN to a 65.850 at Drums on Parade in Madison, WI.
15. The Academy
Previous Ranking: 9 ↓
The Academy saw their score drop ever so slightly from 63.650 in San Bernardino, CA to 63.500 in Tempe, AZ while Pacific Crest lowered the gap between them and The Academy from 5.4 to 3.6 points.
Donald Angelica Best General Effect Award
Tie: Blue Devils & Bluecoats (35% first-place votes)
Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award
Boston Crusaders (45% first-place votes)
John Brazale Best Visual Performance Award
Blue Devils (70% first-place votes)
George Zingali Best Color Guard Performance Award
Boston Crusaders (45% first-place votes)
Jim Ott Best Brass Performance Award
Carolina Crown (85% first-place votes)
Blue Devils' show has lively pacing and innovative drill moves, but no overall meaning. The theme is so broad that by the end, the audience is looking for that branded depth underneath-- but there is none. Previous years' shows had well-reasoned thematic arguments and clearly defined subject matters.
Metamorph told the anniversary story of the corps's humble beginning, with missed "step-offs", the forms continually adjusting to a "dress-right", and by the end, the corps morphs into a polished, highly-exposed horn book, taking flight with virtuoso quality soloists, a symbol of their growth as an organization, and their impact on the hive of the marching arts.
Nighthawks views Hopper's painting as told by the character who is typically dismissed as a whore or trophy wife. Her character drives this version, a plea for all of us to take a second look, a feminist look, at classic art, ending with Natural Woman, by a composer whose birthday was the year the painting was completed. That's a powerful social commentary.
Ghostlight asked viewers to look at drum corps as theater, asking life's bold questions. Not cowering from high stakes premises like this year's shows do.
This year, the corps is doing a collection of tunes loosely tied around the subject of the etymology of the word blue, and the history of blue pigment and its migration across various continents. Huh? For example, the Yeats poem has a theme of money and religion. Its verbiage includes an off-handed reference to "blue cloths", but its tying into an overall theme beyond that color? Nope. No audience member on earth would be able to decipher that theme on viewing the show, let's be honest. This year's corps relies on mid-level gimmicks to entertain audiences, who at the end shrug and say, "Am I missing something?" And, "What was that about?"