DCI Top 50 Shows by Score As of 2017

[@XoneIsACoolDude]

Take a shot every time you see Blue Devils

[@chrismontoya7831]

Dies after halfway mark

[@flynnpatrick7909]

2015 Still has me salty.

[@lawrencedove336]

Flynn Patrick SAME

[@TheSilver13579]

Flynn Patrick me too

[@scgiddens2]

12 minutes in and I'm already HAMMERED...!!!

[@sebastianrer]

Carolina Crown. E=mc^2 is the only production to get a perfect *20* for brass.

[@miyalapeters2720]

felliniesque

[@sebastianrer]

Miyala Peters 19.8

[@justamaninTN]

Blue Devils 2004 in prelims

[@sebastianrer]

The only reason that grade is not a member of the perfect club is because it happened in Quarters and not Finals. I agree with you it is a perfect score (obviously), although, because it is scored as such during Quarters not Finals it can not be counted as a pure perfect 20.00. Now I know some people might find what I've said as to be blasphemous or irreverent but it is what it is.

[@nadivkaspi6211]

Felliniesque Out of 11 judges, 7 of them gave BD a perfect score. Music was the only non-perfect caption, which they got a 29.65

[@illumynarty]

7:14 this man's a legend

[@jacobotchis5741]

My band director was the soloist in felliniesque

[@jenniestevens7899]

I have been a drum corps fan since the late 60's and found this video enjoyable and interesting. Interesting in that I thought certain shows would have been included in the top 50 scores but were not. Such as 2006 Machine and my all time favorite Phantom's FAUST! No corps may ever be able to beat Felenisque's 99.65. WOW!!! Thanks for posting it Anthony. Bob Stevens

[@erwinschliemann7482]

I don't know about "ever." There's always a bigger fish, you know.

[@litenalskare]

Erwin Schliemann the day a corps gets a perfect 100 in finals is the day we riot

[@chasew518]

Blue devils : shows judged color guard in chair DCI judges : Incredible job!

[@Khromiux]

Let us remember.... Cadets 05 was and is still the only show to ever win ALL captions. Let that sink in.

[@matthewoncale3367]

vanguard was so close in 18

[@emmcad7431]

Matthew Oncale rip color guard

[@cedric3920]

Matthew Oncale I went to see the finals 2018 and everyone knew that vanguard was going to win, when it came to awards I think the announcer got tired of saying “santa clara vanguard” but my dad guessed their exact score... I don’t know how he did it

[@ThePMcDonald]

Yet STILL tainted ... because ... Hopkins ...

[@litenalskare]

Patrick McDonald hopkins?

[@joshuamoses329]

The drum major at 17:54 just made my day

[@1anonymousb]

Too bad BD '76 didn't make the cut. He was the most fun drum major to watch ever

[@briandumal7073]

Although it was not in Division 1 competition, let's not forget the 2002 Magic of Orlando who set the highest score ever recorded in DCI competition in the Division 2 Finals with "The wind and the lion" before the Cavs did it in the Division 1 finals that same year.

[@R.Instro]

Last lower division corps to place in the Top Twelve in the upper division's Prelims (11th), Semis (10th) & Finals (11th), thanks to DCI rules at the time. Mad props. Waiting on either BDB or SCVC to match that someday soon, tho! ~_^

[@briandumal7073]

I saw them at the Orlando show that year and I can tell you that they deserved even higher than what they got. Out of all the corps I could have marched, I chose Magic in '03 and was a lead trumpet. 2003 was the last great year for Magic and we were starved the entire summer thanks to a shady director and treasurer who stole all of our money.

[@ThePMcDonald]

Brian Dumal - thanks for this ... I just left similar comment ... my nephew Matt Musick marched baritone w/Magic both 2002 & 2003 ... at least my wife, my kids (his cousins) & I got to see him march live at Citrus Bowl in 2003 ... we won’t get into a discussion about Cappello, except to note that he wasn’t the only crook associated with Magic through the years ...

[@ThePMcDonald]

R.Instro - will NEVER happen until DCI changes the structure of Championship Week ... Magic making top twelve in 2002 EMBARRASSED the DCI execs, and they changed the Div II/III schedule for 2003 to prevent recurrence ... DCI will NEVER allow any Open Class corps to have the chance of duplicating this feat without EXTREME fan pressure

[@DarthDad3]

This shows just how bad the judging has always been.

[@derpboiplays109]

mark fincher lol, at least the judges werent nba finals refs haha

[@percrunner1433]

Blue Devils all just kinda do the same thing every time and get rewarded lol

[@MagicMaster234]

Now SCV Babylon is 10th

[@codywright2840]

28:53 I have never before or since heard a high brass sound of such power. Absolutely incredible

[@Thatwhitef36]

Could you expect any less of the blue devils

[@matthewshackelford5490]

have you heard of literally any carolina crown show?

[@richardfalls7703]

The difference in the quality of brass musicians is so stark when you see an 80s group next to some from the 2010s. We've come so far.

[@johnolson5538]

Richard Falls bs. The quality of equipment, perhaps, not the musicians. Have Crown play on 40 year old bugles and see how good they would sound.

[@richardfalls7703]

You don't think the musical demand is higher now than it was in the 80s. Be honest. There has been a big jump in technical ability even in the last 10 year. And maybe people were capable then but they weren't asked to do as much.

[@johnolson5538]

Richard Falls you said the quality of brass musicians, not demand. Why don’t you pick a topic and stick with it.

[@johnolson5538]

Richard Falls and drill demand has regressed significantly which is another reason the top hornlines “sound” better than lines from the 90’s and 2k. As good as BD may have sounded in 2017, the fact they were never moving while playing anything remotely impressive does not, for a second, make me anoint them as superior to Star’s hornlines or the Cavaliers of 2002-2008. That is foolish to think that.

[@supersop]

@@richardfalls7703 no it's not higher now. A few double tounging passages isn't more challenging than playing musically. Far less technically challenging to play in tune on Bb/F (light years easier). I'd rather listen to music..... real music.... with less pit fills and less technically demanding drill OVER jazz running and visual requirements that make it impossible to play more than 8 minutes of the show and only half of each phrase because you're constantly gassed. Even what Garfield was doing in the 80s was pushing the limits for movement and sound quality. After that, design went nuts. Music suffered. Bugles had to be discarded from the activity for nasally, easily tuned, yet poorly made band instruments...... and the identity of the activity was put to death. I don't see that as a higher quality product, nor is it more musically or technically demanding. Visually, yes! The rest...NO!

[@britomicgamer922]

I still feel like Bluecoat’s tilt was a cleaner and more enjoyable show to watch and listen then BD’s 2014 show.

[@chriskienborts6375]

A BD highlight reel LOVE IT!!!

[@danielbutcher5836]

This must have taken a long time to put together - great work!

[@collizma]

Blue devils and santaclara vanguard are neck and neck all the time XD

[@anthonywilsongolf]

Official Clwolf yeah and look at them this year. Back and forth tho i think scv is up on them by one? Im not sure havent checked in a hot minute

[@katspov9945]

The Cadets were absolutely incredible and I hope they can return to the top eventually. It's going to take truly showcasing the skills of these young people.

[@samsignorelli]

YES! My show (84 BD) is in there!

[@tomshea8382]

Well, yeah.

[@1anonymousb]

Really one of the best moments in the history of DCI. You should be proud of your accomplishment!

[@supersop]

DCI brass doesn't sound that thick and lush anymore my friend. The depth of sound and sonority of your show was damn fine. The coloring and density of the arranging that Wayne and the crew accomplished back then is something sorely missed in today's age.

[@marilync1879]

I love watching the bands march and love the that there are less distractions without the field props (in many of these performances). I am not against props, however I do fell they can take away/distract from the excellent marching in some cases. 😁 Thanks for sharing this a awesome DCI compilation. 💓💓

[@americanspirit8932]

Maryland C reference these groups as bands not throwing people course I'm old school and I agree with Marilyn there marching bands call it what it is drop the drum and bugle Corps title they don't exist any longer I apologize for the voice recognition

[@rdlcbrown]

Interesting -- I marched 84 BD and had no idea corps in the 90's and beyond scored below us. Lot of great corps and performances in that list.

[@jasonbuckingham2864]

Funny thing about "high scores"...that actually has more to do with the quality of groups "behind" the high scoring groups and the contest dynamics of the night. For a group to get a 98 or whatever, that means there are some really good groups that set a high bar.

[@nocluewhatimdoing4543]

Still not quite sure how Felliniesque managed a perfect visual score when I witnessed more than one drop in the colorguard on the finals run, but, what do I know?

[@chrisdolezal3672]

It’s truly a shame this incredible list is incomplete and lacking one the best shows to unfortunately fall just short. Please update this list to include The Phantom Regiment 1989 show that scored 98.4, which (at the time) tied the previous best score until Santa Clara won with 98.8. Thank you!

[@drummerforlife2649]

Was Phatom Regiment 1989 (98.40) in there? Don't remember seeing it.

[@AnthonyNievesSingWithMe]

Drummer forLife Oh noooooo. I must have missed it while making this list. Thanks for pointing out. I’ll definitely have to fix that in next years video. Ill put it in description for now.

[@drummerforlife2649]

Anthony Nieves you're welcome.

[@morganburt2565]

SNUB ROUND 2 29 YEARS LATER

[@chacha_rouge]

I think the Phantom of the Opera at # 6 was my fave

[@nadeseh]

Still get goose bumps every time fight club is shone!

[@marcoscalvillo7598]

The cavaliers 27:50 💦🔥 #splooie

[@yoonjeongsoo9378]

that dance break left me shivering

[@GoodNoodleMMA]

You know what’s up

[@jeffiroth8899]

The best!

[@shawndefiore]

Sorry new head speaking.. but the last 4 years has had the best shows... Ink, Downside Up, Metamorph, and Santa Clara 2018 have all been my favorite shows not only Percussion wise but the design and creativity of these shows were very compelling and really pushed the boundaries that much more

[@erwinschliemann7482]

Some of the older folk in here are going to be, uh, quite *TRIGGERED*

[@StarContra]

Felliniesque was the first show that I can remember seeing, that was scary clean at the first of the season.

[@Encyclopedist]

Probably needed to apply a formula to account for scores shooting up by five to ten points in 1984 after the tick system was abandoned. (First place went from 94.40 to 98.00. Twelfth place went from 73.75 to 83.20.) It's not like every corps became that much better in one year.

[@Encyclopedist]

Also someone else probably noted this already, but Cadets' 1997 show was titled "Celebration" and was in 2nd place (not "As Time Goes By" in 1st as listed -- that was BD in 1997).

[@Encyclopedist]

Sorry, just realized you yourself already mentioned that in the description.

[@vulcanSCGP]

10:18 - DCI Anime?

[@jdmitchell2]

love the music,but that show didn't do a lot for me except leave me confused

[@LavenderSystem69]

Was there really that big of a difference between Tilt and Felliniesque? I figured Tilt would've been in here somewhere...

[@KiranSundarkdog97]

Tilt scored a 97.175, versus BD’s 99.65. I believe BD’s margin of victory was actually either the largest or second largest in DCI history.

[@ImVee10]

Cadets 1997 was not "As Time Goes By." It was "Year of the Dragon" and "Celebration."

[@marwansaidi4078]

Was going to post that. Also, it didn't win, Devs did... with a show called "As Time Goes By". :) (Easy to see what happened there)

[@kendis7401]

I didn't see the show i've been looking for since the 80's. Not sure who it was but the 1 song I remember was the Star Wars Throne Room and the Corp was in black uniforms, in a circle and marched outwards on starting the song. Anyone know it? Maybe it was that PR '89 one mentioned...

[@Jekkin]

I swear all the really early 2000s shows were jazz themed cause of the switch to Bb horns....

[@mixmonster18]

1989... Was that the year "Phantom got robbed"?

[@zanointveld]

agree with felliniesque, very memorable

[@WalkingWithChrist]

what about Tilt?

[@ThomasEatsTofu]

97.175 didnt make it

[@Bruh-ff2tw]

Thomas Phan I'm pretty sure that tilt scored higher than Downside Up

[@Bruh-ff2tw]

Thomas Phan By B, I double checked the scores.

[@tanninsteelblade8050]

1st place ties are the devil.

[@justamaninTN]

Indeed. Except 2000. That one was acceptable imo.

[@Mark-sj3xb]

'99 belonged to SCV. What a disgrace they had to share it with BD of all people

[@xxprouxx]

west side story cadets is in the video 2 times. Did they do it it 94' and 84'

[@jarrettog3661]

Great video man!

[@AnthonyNievesSingWithMe]

Jarrett OG Thanks

[@nikocayetano1805]

I’m not sure but is phantom regiment 89 not there sorry if people asked this already

[@dctrbrass]

OPINION, but I think that the scores would be very different, if all of these corps could go head-to-head. I'm a Scouts fan (favorite is 95 Scouts)....but no way should 007 lose to anyone, any year by that much lol :) But I doubt they consider past years in the scoring at all. The top 10-15 would probably be less than a point apart lol. I'm not judging so I just try to enjoy the Heaven that is DCI.

[@PaulLangleyErickson]

It's a great compilation, but everyone has to realize just as drum corp has evolved over the decades, so has the way they've been judged. Old school was: you made a mistake, or 'tic' and you lost a tenth. Now it's all about how good you make the judges feel. 'Build up' scoring not 'break down' scoring. Some of those great shows and corps from the 70's - Kingsmen - 27th - Muchachos - Madison - Vanguard and BD were judged using a completely different system. I'm glad some mid 80's scores hold their own. They were not that far removed from the power house 70's corps.

[@PaulLangleyErickson]

That said, the skill level and demands in drum corp today are absolutely astonishing and far beyond what was at the cutting edge 40 years ago. So glad I've been able to enjoy it all.

[@dctrbrass]

Yeah I wish I would've discovered corps before 1995. But even from then, it's changed a lot. So I guess no real way to really compare them (other than fundamentals of brass playing of course). So many things to think about....would be tough to judge such a varied field. But curious what kind of scoring system they'd come up with, if there were this much variety in the field today. I'm still a fanboy of the scoring system in gymnastics. lol :) I try so hard to not get caught up in the scores and just enjoy it. But inevitably.....lol :) I think studying music makes you crazy haha.

[@eliguevarra1362]

Might not be your thing but just a request: could you make a top 50 shows by percussion score and for clips show drum features? that would be awesome

[@AnthonyNievesSingWithMe]

Eli Guevarra Sure. Because this season is almost up Im going to wait until it ends.

[@eliguevarra1362]

Anthony Nieves Wow thanks for the reply and that will be awesome. You have earned a sub👍🏻

[@slappy1234567]

19:37 Boss.

[@johnstrong283]

Where is 98.4 Phantom Regiment 1989?

[@yourname6486]

Do dci’s allow trombones or would I have to switch to baritone?

[@Walking_Spinel]

Trombones are allowed as of 2014

[@wadet1642]

They are allowed but, I would suggest learning baritone as trombone is mostly used as a feature instrument. Unless you find a corps that marches trombone full time.

[@thomassicard3733]

Holy sheeeeet. What a compilation of baaaaaaaaaaaaadness!

[@MsvmusicBlogspot]

You left off the 1989 Phantom Regiment show. It also received a score of 98.4...

[@AnthonyNievesSingWithMe]

Micheal Vickers Yep someone else commented that. I put it in the description. I will fix it in the next video when this season ends.

[@jamesswofford6619]

I'm still not sure how BD did it in 2014. They must know what the judges want.

[@neal0071234able]

But if I had to pick a hornline outta the top shows.. 02 cavaliers every time

[@jikkme]

j smith I’d choose Crown 2013.

[@imhappy5266]

Where's Cavaliers 2006??? Did I just miss it?

[@AnthonyNievesSingWithMe]

Im Happy not high enough to make it. It scored a 97.2

[@grantbowden7588]

I’m sad it wasn’t in there as well machine is so cool

[@okey7261]

4:36 what even it's happening ..

[@okey7261]

4:56*

[@elvinagustiyann2267]

What about inferno?

[@ThePMcDonald]

Should have included 2002 Magic of Orlando - 99.05 (Div II Champs) ... first score EVER IN EXCESS OF 99, from a corps FORCED by DCI to compete in Div II when they CLEARLY belonged in Div I ... DEFINED “scorched earth” ... “Oh, so we HAVE TO compete in Div II because we took 2001 off ?!? ... OK .. WATCH THIS!!!!!”

[@okey7261]

26:30 they used this closure in 2018

[@gumpgump8830]

Nice

[@jturquette]

SCV ‘89 “phantom” is my favorite show!

[@BSORachmaninov]

Cadets 2011?

[@MS-df2fk]

Totally forgot about BD's 1997 Casablanca show. Considering that won shows how crappy of a year it was.

[@chale1108]

Crappy year? Vanguard was pretty special that year. Cadets were great also. Phantom in 4th was equally great. Crappy year? I think not.

[@trumpeter12400]

Blue Devils won with that amazing show called As Time Goes By.... This guy has his info wrong....

[@marwansaidi4078]

As Time Goes By was Casablanca. But to claim that 97 was a crappy year is just asinine.

[@trumpeter12400]

Marwan Saidi exactly that show was amazing , I know the theme was Casablanca I was just saying the show name was actually As time goes by.

[@Danny-sy7bg]

This really shows how inconsistent their scoring is

[@roquesosajr9959]

2:00 and I oop-

[@packatac10]

Interestingly enough, when you typed "We all know what number 1 is...", I actually didn't know. Not nearly as memorable a show as the previous 7 shows. They got points for pushing the props and dance ideas to the penultimate point that it's at now. They didn't do a better show... they just marching even less than a normal BD performance. Meh.

[@erwinschliemann7482]

They got points because they were way better than any other corps that year, yet the asinine scoring system had already pushed the lower scoring shows to unreasonable levels. Tilt was a decent show in my opinion, but to think its score puts it nearly tying with either Cavies 2003 or BD 2002, is kind of ridiculous. Tilt would have still struggled to win most years, just wasn't clean enough or effective enough. Both BD 2002 and Cavaliers 2003 are shows that could have easily won in another season. Yet because Tilt somehow managed a 97.175 at finals, BD's score that year sky-rocketed (scores are relative to other shows that season, rather than being objective).

[@terrymitchell1505]

Love the 1812.AWESOME!!

[@im6441]

7:00

[@trumpeter12400]

The Cadets didnt win 1997 they came in second and their show wasn't called as time goes by that was the blue devils from that same year who won....

[@AnthonyNievesSingWithMe]

Thanks for pointing, editing a video like this can make it easy to make a mistake. I added the correction in the description and it will be fixed in the updated list with 2018 scores in a few months.

[@scottscottsdale7868]

I still think 1980 BD was the best show ever.

[@kendis7401]

Oh yea, 2018, Santa Clara Vanguard 98.625 ( GO SCV! ) alllmost #1 ever.

[@FudgyTheWhale_]

Why put placements? Its obvious these are all first place shows..

[@AnthonyNievesSingWithMe]

FudgyTheWhaleVideos they are not all first place in that year as some of the shows in the top 50 happened the same year as each other.

[@FudgyTheWhale_]

Anthony Nieves ah true. Didn't think about that sorry

[@Terrrrry5]

The lowest placing top 50 show was a Third place show by the Devils

[@nonchalantree6604]

XD 2:00

[@bradenboy26]

This just shows how completely overrated a lot of Blue Devils shows are. A lot of park and bark and no creative drill. The one show of theirs I do love is Winged Victory.

[@Mark-sj3xb]

Agreed. Winged Victory is the only watchable BD show of the last ten years

[@jordantyler148]

1930?

[@chrismontoya7831]

Jordan Croteau 26:30

[@sirstephington8869]

I disapprove of this as the standard of the shows gets better every year, making the top groups 10 or more years ago look terrible to what they are now, so even if they had a high score then, the standard was lower and now in comparison they would never be on this list.

[@R.Instro]

Think of it as a history lesson, rather than a quality assessment. That's how I looked at it, at least. :)

[@tomshea8382]

Respectfully disagree. The standard of performance has never been higher, but the design and overall "concept" of the shows nowadays is pretty awful in my opinion.

[@sirstephington8869]

Tom Shea I can see where your brain is at. The presentation of the shows as "by score" created the idea that these shows are the best of the best, (which still my point stands) but you took a idea of best shows as best performances. Thanks for the perspective.

[@R.Instro]

Mmm, good point. It's very possible for a better performed (nominally, higher scoring) show to not be as "good" a show (better designed, more enjoyable or meaningful, etc.) as a lower scoring one (nominally, lesser performance quality). This is one of the reasons I've always tried to catch the Open Class championships when I can; they'll (almost) never beat any of the big boys, but they're plenty enjoyable in their own right.

[@danielbutcher5836]

Scoring and standards do change over time, for sure. We all know these teams were competing against each other THAT SUMMER, and the scores can’t be literally put up against each other. This is just a fun look back at how the judges saw them over time. Thanks for posting!

[@altx7776]

SCV's show from this year would be at #10 now.. wow

[@disc_golfing_with_d]

I feel like 76, 80, 89, and (the best DRUMLINE ever) 90 BD should have been on there

[@Mark-sj3xb]

BD '80 with a 90.70? Yes, that's higher than a 97.3

[@Mrtellitlikeitis]

Scores are comical. Suggestive judging. Another moronic decision

[@bruincs1]

Let's be honest. Drum Corps pretty much died around '02-'03. (some will say much earlier than that....) What we have today is the 90's mantra "let's bring over all the band kids" result. Nothing against their talents, it's just not Drum Corps.