NationStates Jolt Archive

World Tour II Schedule is available at http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II#Schedule.

Competition begins Sunday evening, June 15 (real time). Scores, including placings and caption awards, will be posted separately for each competition.

SCORES FOR: June 28, Year 67

VENUE: Harlaxton-Barr Stadium
High Marching & Maneuvering: Haydensky
High Auxiliary: Wild Foxen
High Bugles: Wild Foxen
High Battery Percussion: Hammerfest Anvils
High Sideline Percussion: East Coast Highwaymen

Sixth place: The Fadron Gang (54.56)
Fifth place: CCR Part Deux (54.85)
Fourth place: Haydensky (55.99)
Third place (bronze medal): East Coast Highwaymen (56.22)
Second place (silver medal): Hammerfest Anvils (56.97)
First place (gold medal): Wild Foxen (57.25)

VENUE: Gieron Bank Stadium
High Marching & Maneuvering: Shadow Runners
High Auxiliary: Legion of the Red Shield
High Bugles: Brigadiers
High Battery Percussion: Shadow Runners
High Sideline Percussion: Kings of the New South

Fifth place: Hockey Playin' Nuts (54.73)
Fourth place: Kings of the New South (54.98)
Third place (bronze medal): Shadow Runners (55.54)
Second place (silver medal): Brigadiers (56.10)
First place (gold medal): Legion of the Red Shield (56.56)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps).

Here we go again-but what a different attitude. Last year Zwangzug corps traveled to the unknown Bluth Corporation and wound up taking home the gold and bronze medals. Now, a truly international competition will feature shows in five nations. And with a bigger tournament comes bigger controversy.

Last year's champions, Haydensky, were never truly dominant in the musical areas, and they haven't helped their cause with this year's show. "Takeoff", Haydensky says, hopes to make drum and bugle corps more accessible to the masses. Wild Foxen representatives, in turn, reply that Haydensky has essentially sold out, content to rest on its laurels rather than play "real music". Not in so many words, of course, but the implication was clear.

Meanwhile, Shadow Runners announced a space-themed show-but where Haydensky has triumphant orchestral chords, the new corps has adopted a distinctly darker tone. It sparked controversy of its own, of course, as to whether it was really appropriate subject matter. Several hundred fans started a petition to nominate Spenson (Zwangzug's spaceport) as a hosting site, but as that city's involvement with drum and bugle corps is essentially zero, nothing came of that.

The sites chosen are inoffensive enough. Haydensky is nominally from Elapinta, a suburb of Arlington, but the bigger city was deemed to attract bigger fans. Conversely, exurbian Slaite presents a more pastoral setting for fields. 102d's drum and bugle corps involvement isn't high above Spenson's, but the stadium is nice.

But Zwangzug corps were on the road for the first show. Wild Foxen and Haydensky were back in the Bluth Corporation for the East Coast Highwaymen's thematic "blue" show. You know, in retrospect it's a good thing the Live Wires were ineligible: between their "Blue Merle" show and rivalry with the Highwaymen...Anyhow, Wild Foxen were determined to upstage Haydensky, and that they achieved. They won the caption awards for not only Bugles but also Auxiliary, a strength of both corps. While Haydensky did win the Marching and Maneuvering award, they were off the medal podium while the Wild Foxen took home the gold.

Meanwhile, in Taeshan, the Hockey Playin' Nuts "bugged out", finishing last at their home show. The Shadow Runners, however, earned two caption awards, in Marching & Maneuvering and Battery Percussion, leading to a bronze medal. All three Zwangzug corps will play in Schuldt Stadium in Belpub in the next competition.

Well, what did we learn today?

First of all, we learned that while one monkey doesn't stop a show, one bad turn can destroy our drum and bugle core's chances for a medal in competition. Oh, and that our bugles are horrid without the louder noises of the tubas and the rest of the brass section to drown them out. Maybe we should have considered a less musically intensive show and played a lot harder on our strenght which is the Majestic Drum Line, which did receive an award from the tough Taeshanis judjing for best Sideline Percussion, and should have gotten an award for best Battery as well.

Also, for next year, Arroza will have to resort to old standards and a more classical themed show, as the mixture of metal based bugle calls, and march ins and outs, and repeating jungle and hip-hop drum lines were received very poorly by the crowd, something that may have affected our overall scoring. We must remember as at all times, that what makes the locals happy, doesn't necessarily translate around the world.

The East Coast Highwaymen ended the night at their home show at Harlaxton-Barr Stadium with a testosterone-laden arrangement of their closer, Steely Dan's Deacon Blues. As the entire hornline rotated a single file on the 50 into a company front in preparation for their last time through the refrain, with the mellophones ripping and the contras laying it down thick, the marimbas were going wild on the sideline, their hands all blurred as they, along with the battery cymbals, set the hornline up for an orgasmic last time through "They call Alabama the Crimson Tide...call me Deacon Blues!" Shouts of "That's what I'm talkin' about! Yeah! Yeah!" could be distinctly heard from the stands, as the entire audience leapt up into one of the biggest standing ovations ever heard on the World Tour. The standing ovation continued as the corps trooped the stands, and began all over again when they returned to the field for retreat. Scores were given, and a massive boo erupted when the Highwaymen were announced as the third place corps. The fans knew they had seen--and heard--what drum corps was all about that night. They didn't want an encore of Handel and foofery--they wanted some real music.

Back at the bus, Highwaymen director Lawrence Karabekian reminded the corps of why they were there. "Being a Highwaymen means you put the fans first," he said, "and that's exactly what we did tonight. The judges didn't recognize that, but judges never do. Don't you ever forget what you gave the fans in the stands tonight, because I know they won't. No other corps can say this--we're here for the right reasons. That's who we are. HIGHWAYMEN FOR LIFE!"

Meanwhile, at Gieron Bank Stadium in Taeshan, the two other Bluth Corporation corps were just as upbeat. They finished 1-2, and World Tour newcomer Legion of the Red Shield, which the previous year had won the Bluth Corporation Grand National Championship, couldn't have been more thrilled to take the gold in its first-ever World Tour performance. The Brigadiers, carrying high expectations after taking the silver in the previous World Tour Finals, were slightly disappointed to lose to the upstart Legion. However, they did finish better than they had expected after they left the field earlier that night; sideline percussion had never been a strong point in the corps, and after they muddied up an exposed section in the intro to Ostinato, they knew they would be lucky to even medal.

SCORES FOR: July 11, Year 68

VENUE: Schuldt Stadium
High Marching & Maneuvering: CCR Part Deux
High Auxiliary: Wild Foxen
High Bugles: Wild Foxen
High Battery Percussion: Shadow Runners
High Sideline Percussion: Haydensky

Sixth place: Hockey Playin' Nuts (57.70)
Fifth place: Haydensky (58.54)
Fourth place: Shadow Runners (58.87)
Third place (bronze medal): CCR Part Deux (60.14)
Second place (silver medal): East Coast Highwaymen (60.77)
First place (gold medal): Wild Foxen (61.85)

VENUE: The Stadium at Khlysty
High Marching & Maneuvering: Hammerfest Anvils
High Auxiliary: Legion of the Red Shield
High Bugles: Brigadiers
High Battery Percussion: Hammerfest Anvils
High Sideline Percussion: The Fadron Gang

Fifth place: Brigadiers (58.19)
Fourth place: Kings of the New South (59.01)
Third place (bronze medal): The Fadron Gang (59.45)
Second place (silver medal): Legion of the Red Shield (59.63)
First place (gold medal): Hammerfest Anvils (60.55)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#July_11).

Wild Foxen have taken an early lead in the medal count, winning gold again in Belpub, where all three of Zwangzug's corps competed. All, in fact, earned caption awards as well; two for the Wild Foxen and one each for the other corps. Neither Haydensky nor the Shadow Runners medalled.

The other four countries comprising this year's corps were represented at The Stadium at Khlysty, where Skibereen's Hammerfest Anvils finished first. Those other countries will also compete, or perhaps already have, at the Fadron College Fieldhouse. Through a strange quirk of the space-time continuum reporters have predicted the scores already, but since it doesn't involve Zwangzug nobody bothers to report it. Not that we're nationalists or anything. Just apathetic.

SCORES FOR: July 23, Year 68

VENUE: Fadron College Fieldhouse
High Marching & Maneuvering: CCR Part Deux
High Auxiliary: The Fadron Gang
High Bugles: East Coast Highwaymen
High Battery Percussion: Hammerfest Anvils
High Sideline Percussion: CCR Part Deux

Sixth place: Kings of the New South (60.71)
Fifth place: East Coast Highwaymen (62.01)
Fourth place: Brigadiers (62.55)
Third place (bronze medal): CCR Part Deux (64.83)
Second place (silver medal): Hammerfest Anvils (65.28)
First place (gold medal): The Fadron Gang (65.45)

VENUE: Cheshire Field
High Marching & Maneuvering: Haydensky
High Auxiliary: Wild Foxen
High Bugles: Wild Foxen
High Battery Percussion: Shadow Runners
High Sideline Percussion: Haydensky

Fifth place: Hockey Playin' Nuts (61.11)
Fourth place: Haydensky (61.12)
Third place (bronze medal): Legion of the Red Shield (62.74)
Second place (silver medal): Shadow Runners (62.88)
First place (gold medal): Wild Foxen (63.39)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#July_23).

A dominant performance from Zwangzug corps in Bassabook, for the Wild Foxen's home show. Barely surprisingly by now, they took another gold medal for a ridiculous maximum of nine medal points, not to mention caption awards in Auxiliary and Bugles.

Of course, the Zwangzug triad comprised a majority of the corps present, and one of the others was the generally unimpressive Hockey Playin' Nuts. The Bluth Corporation's Legion of the Red Shield, however, excelled particularly as an ensemble in the Auxiliary component of the performance, earning a well-deserved bronze medal. The silver went to the Shadow Runners, with a particularly impressive Battery Percussion section-they won that caption award. The others were swept by defending champions Haydensky, which is yet to medal.

SCORES FOR: August 4, Year 68

VENUE: Government Park
High Marching & Maneuvering: Hammerfest Anvils
High Auxiliary: Hammerfest Anvils
High Bugles: The Fadron Gang
High Battery Percussion: Hammerfest Anvils
High Sideline Percussion: Hammerfest Anvils

Sixth place: Kings of the New South (63.06)
Fifth place: Shadow Runners (64.10)
Fourth place: Brigadiers (65.18)
Third place (bronze medal): East Coast Highwaymen (65.50)
Second place (silver medal): The Fadron Gang (69.19)
First place (gold medal): Hammerfest Anvils (70.12)

VENUE: O'Hare Stadium
High Marching & Maneuvering: CCR Part Deux
High Auxiliary: Wild Foxen
High Bugles: Wild Foxen
High Battery Percussion: Legion of the Red Shield
High Sideline Percussion: Hockey Playin' Nuts

Fifth place: Legion of the Red Shield (61.78)
Fourth place: Hockey Playin' Nuts (64.31)
Third place (bronze medal): Haydensky (64.49)
Second place (silver medal): Wild Foxen (64.66)
First place (gold medal): CCR Part Deux (65.22)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#August_4).

The East Coast Highwaymen turned in another energy-filled performance tonight at Arroza's Government Park. Though the judges only rewarded them with a bronze medal, the fans rewarded them with calls for an impromptu encore in the parking lot as they played themselves off the field. As the corps loaded its equipment and began boarding its buses, contrabass player Henry Stewart cryptically muttered something to the effect of "pouring it down the judges' throats."

The Brigadiers, meanwhile, were having a difficult year as they continued to fall short of the expectations they had after placing second in the previous World Tour. A convenient target for their frustrations--especially from the hornline, the corps's flagship section--were the members of the front/sideline percussion ensemble, whose scores had remained relatively static since the first night of the tour. Said Luther Rother, a soprano player, "They're not even really doing drum corps anyway--they don't march; they just stand in the shade all day and play their instruments. We should just get rid of them all...they're just dragging us down." Corps director Jerry Seidling was certainly aware of the rift developing between the front ensemble and the rest of the corps, and noted, "If we don't do something about this internal strife soon, this corps is going to totally fall apart emotionally. We've got to fix this, and fast."

The Legion of the Red Shield, though a newcomer to the World Tour and thus lacking the expectations of the Brigadiers, was beginning to feel the same way. The Legion started out strong the first night of the tour, taking the gold in their first-ever World Tour competition, but have since slipped. Losing a place every night, last night they finished fourth and failed to medal for the first time on the tour. Unlike the Brigadiers, though, the Legion didn't have a convenient scapegoat--their scores were fairly constant across all the captions. In a speech to the corps before they boarded the buses to leave, Director Keith Jarvi told them, "This is good--this is forcing us to realize that we succeed or fail not because of one section of the corps, but that we succeed or fail as a single group--as a whole. There's no reason to pin the blame on one particular section, because our scores are pretty consistent across the board. We ALL need to take it upon ourselves right now--not when we begin rehearsal tomorrow, but right now--to turn up the intensity nine or ten notches and not accept anything less from ourselves. See you in the morning!"

International Music Wire > AIDBCA World Tour 2 > Kings of the New South > News.

- Arrozan morale has sunk to a new low after their country's best drum corps, the Kings of the New South, received a last place finish in the home stadium, Government Park. Lead Drum Major and band spokesman, Terrance Shumaker blamed the judging for the team's dismal series of results, in which they've gone the entire competition without moving above fourth place or earning a single medal.

Secondario Snare Xerxes Quinones, turned the blame inwards though when in a violent polemic which was released to several newspapers he said, "look at the damn scores. Our drum battery's killing it out there. We're top 3 almost every effing event. So why aren't we any good? WHY? Why don't you ask the shoddily assembled, know-nothing, do-nothing, score-nothing bugle corps! Just look at their numbers, obviously they weren't prepared for international competition, and they're getting us killed out here when it comes time to face great bands from around the world who actually know what the heck they're doing!"

Professional critic and criticizer Marcus Madsen blamed the government, a popular view among both the intelligentsia, and anti-governmental nutcases. "Really this problem starts at the top with Prime Minister Haley and his insistence on nepotism and letting his brother-in-law run the Ministry of Sport. There seems to be this urge in the minisrty, and in the Government proper to just throw crap teams together, and to register for every type of tournament imagineable, just to get their name out there internationally. We shouldn't even be in this competition, but they put in a college band, stripped the woodwind section, and then wonder why we're failing. Really the stupidity of those in power is almost frightening."

This was the test-would Haydensky's "accessibility to the masses" pan out? Attendance in Arlington was below some lofty hopes, but the atmosphere led Haydensky to its first medal, a bronze, behind a surprisingly dominant Sideline Percussion section. Taking silver (finally) were the Wild Foxen, and in first place were the surprising Taeshanese corps, CCR Part Deux. Shadow Runners, meanwhile, competed in Arroza, finishing fifth (admittedly, above the frustrated hosts).

SCORES FOR: August 16, Year 68

VENUE: The Royer Coliseum
High Marching & Maneuvering: CCR Part Deux
High Auxiliary: Wild Foxen
High Bugles: Wild Foxen
High Battery Percussion: Shadow Runners
High Sideline Percussion: Kings of the New South

Sixth place: Kings of the New South (62.91)
Fifth place: Legion of the Red Shield (65.14)
Fourth place: CCR Part Deux (66.74)
Third place (bronze medal): Wild Foxen (67.01)
Second place (silver medal): Haydensky (67.75)
First place (gold medal): Shadow Runners (69.12)

VENUE: Vanguard Stadium
High Marching & Maneuvering: Hockey Playin' Nuts
High Auxiliary: Hammerfest Anvils
High Bugles: The Fadron Gang
High Battery Percussion: Hammerfest Anvils
High Sideline Percussion: The Fadron Gang

Fifth place: East Coast Highwaymen (64.41)
Fourth place: Hockey Playin' Nuts (65.70)
Third place (bronze medal): Brigadiers (67.92)
Second place (silver medal): The Fadron Gang (72.25)
First place (gold medal): Hammerfest Anvils (72.82)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#August_16).

A medal sweep for Zwangzug sees the Wild Foxen take third for a change, falling to second in the medal value count behind Skibereen's Hammerfest Anvils, which took gold in Vanguard Stadium. Both competitions were held in the Bluth Corporation.

The Shadow Runners came out on top, playing a bittersweet rendition of "Drops of Jupiter" for an encore, and earned the caption award in Battery Percussion to boot. Haydensky took silver, while the Wild Foxen earned caption awards in Auxiliary and Bugles. Again. They've swept those categories in every competition.

This is the halfway point of the first stage. With a bigger field, eight corps will progress to the quarterfinals. Haydensky is tied for eighth, notably with the Brigadiers, the other finalist of the first world tour. Wild Foxen and Shadow Runners are second and tied for fourth respectively.

SCORES FOR: August 28, Year 68

VENUE: Tarang County Field
High Marching & Maneuvering: CCR Part Deux
High Auxiliary: Wild Foxen
High Bugles: Wild Foxen
High Battery Percussion: Hammerfest Anvils
High Sideline Percussion: Hockey Playin' Nuts

Sixth place: CCR Part Deux (68.26)
Fifth place: Legion of the Red Shield (68.87)
Fourth place: Wild Foxen (69.43)
Third place (bronze medal): Hockey Playin' Nuts (70.21)
Second place (silver medal): Haydensky (70.67)
First place (gold medal): Hammerfest Anvils (78.63)

VENUE: Atalantea Coliseum
High Marching & Maneuvering: Brigadiers
High Auxiliary: Brigadiers
High Bugles: Shadow Runners
High Battery Percussion: The Fadron Gang
High Sideline Percussion: The Fadron Gang

Fifth place: Kings of the New South (63.44)
Fourth place: East Coast Highwaymen (64.99)
Third place (bronze medal): Shadow Runners (70.46)
Second place (silver medal): Brigadiers (71.88)
First place (gold medal): The Fadron Gang (72.32)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#August_28).

Wild Foxen don't medal. Phew. They take caption awards in Auxiliary and Bugles. Yawn. Haydensky take silver. Hooray. Suburbian field attracts city crowd. Woot. Only three fans come for what they expect to be a gridiron game. Shame. Shadow Runners over in Taeshan. So? They earn bronze medal. Nice.

Journalists probably insane. Meh.

Wild Foxen don't medal. Phew. They take caption awards in Auxiliary and Bugles. Yawn. Haydensky take silver. Hooray. Suburbian field attracts city crowd. Woot. Only three fans come for what they expect to be a gridiron game. Shame. Shadow Runners over in Taeshan. So? They earn bronze medal. Nice.

Journalists probably insane. Meh.

OOC: Best. Review. Ever. I'm so going to jack that style.

Kings of South. Playing more like queens. Haven't ever medaled. Won't ever medal. Worst corps in the history of corps. Dum major wants to get drunk. Full Stop.

The mood of the Brigadiers was finally starting to improve after their second-place showing at Taeshan's Atalantea Coliseum. After just two performances, the corps had gone from being on the Quarterfinals bubble to being comfortably in sixth place, holding the tiebreakers over Haydensky and CCR Part Deux and immediately behind a steadily-slipping Legion of the Red Shield and Shadow Runners. As the corps began rising through the standings, the members started to lift some of the pressure off the front ensemble; however, they were aware that their scores were still the lowest of the corps and that if the corps started to fall again the fingers would be pointed back at them again.

Legion of the Red Shield had continued to slip, but as the memories of that stunning win the first night of the tour grew further and further back, they became more and more happy just to be part of the tour. They took solace in the fact that they were still ranked ahead of the East Coast Highwaymen, meaning there remained a possibility of them being invited back to the World Tour next year, rather than returning to the Bluth Corporation national circuit.

The East Coast Highwaymen had long subscribed to the notion that the fan response, not the numbers, were what was important. The fan response was indeed there; night after night, they were the undisputed crowd favorite. Still, the hardware was nice; and after their relatively strong early-tour showing they thought they might be able to have it both ways. After all, if nothing else a better competitive showing meant more opportunities to perform, and therefore more opportunities to entertain the fans. They had not been able to keep their early surge going, though, and as they fell farther and farther behind in the standings the corps members began to wonder if they would even make the cut for Quarterfinals.

SCORES FOR: September 9, Year 68

VENUE: X Island Metropark
High Marching & Maneuvering: Hockey Playin' Nuts
High Auxiliary: Wild Foxen
High Bugles: Wild Foxen
High Battery Percussion: Shadow Runners
High Sideline Percussion: Hockey Playin' Nuts

Sixth place: Kings of the New South (65.05)
Fifth place: Wild Foxen (69.64)
Fourth place: Legion of the Red Shield (71.93)
Third place (bronze medal): Hockey Playin' Nuts (72.83)
Second place (silver medal): The Fadron Gang (72.88)
First place (gold medal): Shadow Runners (73.98)

VENUE: Polydome
High Marching & Maneuvering: Brigadiers
High Auxiliary: Hammerfest Anvils
High Bugles: Hammerfest Anvils
High Battery Percussion: Hammerfest Anvils
High Sideline Percussion: Haydensky

Fifth place: East Coast Highwaymen (67.96)
Fourth place: CCR Part Deux (68.25)
Third place (bronze medal): Haydensky (74.02)
Second place (silver medal): Brigadiers (75.06)
First place (gold medal): Hammerfest Anvils (79.03)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#September_9).

New style appreciated by Arrozans. Excellent. Deemed worthy of continuation. Obviously.

Wild Foxen come in fifth. Seriously. Still win caption awards in Auxiliary and Bugles. Somehow. Hockey Playin' Nuts medal. Oookay. Shadow Runners take gold? Cool! And caption award in Battery Percussion. Sweet.

Drum and bugle corps fans in 102d. Surprise. Turn up to Polydome. Okay. Haydensky win Sideline Percussion award. Fine. And bronze medal. Yay.

The East Coast Highwaymen didn't bother to hide their disappointment after a last-place finish in Zwangzug's Polydome. The corps had reworked their show a bit, so that it ended with a reprise of their opener My Blue Heaven, which the design team felt would create a more energetic finale. It worked, as the fans loved them even more than ever, but their crowd-pleasing efforts weren't getting recognized by the judges. Rifle line member Loretta Suete was overheard after retreat saying, "I don't want to sound like a hypocrite--we always say we're all about the crowd and not about the scores and all that--but still, it hurts. The crowd loves us and wants to see more of us, but it's not the crowd that decides whether we get to perform three more times at the end of the tour...I tell you what, the judging system here is totally corrupt."

Legion of the Red Shield, though not as bitter as the Highwaymen, was nonetheless nervous. With three shows left they were still legitimate contenders for one of the last two spots at Quarterfinals, but the corps members couldn't help but be anxious at how close they were cutting it. The visual staff had recently rewritten an extremely dirty section of the drill during the percussion solo, and they had been rewarded with a 10-point jump in their Marching & Maneuvering - Ensemble scores, but they were worried that that wouldn't be enough. It was getting to be too late to make any further changes, so in all likelihood the corps would be stuck with what it had from then on out. Visual caption head John Finkelstein reminded the corps, "We can't control what the other corps do. We can only control the quality of the product we put out, and we owe it to ourselves to put out the best damn product we possibly can. After that, it's out of our hands."

The Brigadiers, meanwhile, were completely ecstatic. The corps had climbed out of its rut and moved into sole possession of fifth place in the standings; barring a disaster on their part or a complete turnaround from one of the three lowest corps, the Brigadiers were almost assured a spot in Quarterfinals--and from then on out only scores mattered, not medal count; for the last couple of nights the Brigadiers had been posting the second- or third-highest scores on the entire tour. If they kept it up, not only would the surging Brigadiers make Quarterfinals, but they stood a very real chance of surviving to medal at Finals.

SCORES FOR: September 22, Year 68

VENUE: Blacklake Blues Ballpark
High Marching & Maneuvering: Hockey Playin' Nuts
High Auxiliary: Hammerfest Anvils
High Bugles: Hammerfest Anvils
High Battery Percussion: Hammerfest Anvils
High Sideline Percussion: Hockey Playin' Nuts

Sixth place: CCR Part Deux (70.18)
Fifth place: The Fadron Gang (75.51)
Fourth place: Hockey Playin' Nuts (75.57)
Third place (bronze medal): Shadow Runners (75.89)
Second place (silver medal): Brigadiers (77.23)
First place (gold medal): Hammerfest Anvils (82.51)

VENUE: Lipscomb Bowl
High Marching & Maneuvering: Legion of the Red Shield
High Auxiliary: Wild Foxen
High Bugles: Wild Foxen
High Battery Percussion: Legion of the Red Shield
High Sideline Percussion: Haydensky

Fifth place: Kings of the New South (67.44)
Fourth place: Wild Foxen (70.86)
Third place (bronze medal): East Coast Highwaymen (71.57)
Second place (silver medal): Legion of the Red Shield (74.76)
First place (gold medal): Haydensky (76.87)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#September_22).

Wild Foxen not great at this whole marching business. Nah. One section out of order for a bar or so. Dang. Still take caption awards in auxiliary and bugles. Congratulations. Finish above Arrozan corps. Yeah... Haydensky takes gold though. Better. And sideline percussion award. Elsewhere? Shadow Runners earn bronze. Huzzah.

The Brigadiers were jubilant after their performance last night; their woes were over after a second-place finish all but assured them a spot in quarterfinals, and they once again posted the second-highest score not just at their show but on the entire tour.

Legion of the Red Shield and East Coast Highwaymen were less of a sure thing; the Highwaymen are currently tied in the medal count with CCR Part Deux, and fall into ninth place after the tiebreaker. However, with CCR Part Deux faltering of late and the Highwaymen starting to climb back up, they might join Legion of the Red Shield to fill out the final two spots in Quarterfinals.

SCORES FOR: October 4, Year 68

VENUE: The Den
High Marching & Maneuvering: Legion of the Red Shield
High Auxiliary: Wild Foxen
High Bugles: Hammerfest Anvils
High Battery Percussion: Hammerfest Anvils
High Sideline Percussion: Haydensky

Sixth place: CCR Part Deux (72.60)
Fifth place: Wild Foxen (74.12)
Fourth place: East Coast Highwaymen (74.87)
Third place (bronze medal): Legion of the Red Shield (76.33)
Second place (silver medal): Haydensky (79.52)
First place (gold medal): Hammerfest Anvils (83.91)

VENUE: Urania Arena
High Marching & Maneuvering: Brigadiers
High Auxiliary: Hockey Playin' Nuts
High Bugles: Shadow Runners
High Battery Percussion: The Fadron Gang
High Sideline Percussion: Hockey Playin' Nuts

Fifth place: Kings of the New South (68.99)
Fourth place: Shadow Runners (76.36)
Third place (bronze medal): The Fadron Gang (76.90)
Second place (silver medal): Hockey Playin' Nuts (79.03)
First place (gold medal): Brigadiers (80.91)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#October_4).

With one competition to go before the quarterfinals, the Zwangzug corps move closer together in the medal standings. All have eleven or twelve medal points: the Wild Foxen, after a torrid start, haven't medaled since mid-August. More newsworthy is their lack of taking the High Bugles award; they did, however, take their customary caption award for Auxiliary.

The Shadow Runners played their home show, the last show to be held in Zwangzug, and earned nothing less than...the High Bugles award. They finished fourth. Haydensky won the silver medal and sideline percussion award in The Den, the sole show in Skibereen. Its Hammerfest Anvils took the gold at their home show.

SCORES FOR: October 16, Year 68

VENUE: Solzhenitsyn Field
High Marching & Maneuvering: Brigadiers
High Auxiliary: Legion of the Red Shield
High Bugles: Hammerfest Anvils
High Battery Percussion: Brigadiers
High Sideline Percussion: The Fadron Gang

Sixth place: Kings of the New South (69.61)
Fifth place: CCR Part Deux (76.29)
Fourth place: Legion of the Red Shield (78.02)
Third place (bronze medal): The Fadron Gang (78.72)
Second place (silver medal): Brigadiers (83.42)
First place (gold medal): Hammerfest Anvils (84.10)

VENUE: Docktown Memorial Stadium
High Marching & Maneuvering: Shadow Runners
High Auxiliary: Wild Foxen
High Bugles: Shadow Runners
High Battery Percussion: Haydensky
High Sideline Percussion: Hockey Playin' Nuts

Fifth place: Wild Foxen (76.74)
Fourth place: East Coast Highwaymen (78.82)
Third place (bronze medal): Shadow Runners (79.12)
Second place (silver medal): Hockey Playin' Nuts (81.87)
First place (gold medal): Haydensky (82.83)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#October_16).

QUARTERFINALISTS

Hammerfest Anvils
The Fadron Gang
Brigadiers
Haydensky
Wild Foxen
Shadow Runners
Legion of the Red Shield
Hockey Playin' Nuts


ELIMINATED

CCR Part Deux (9th place, through tiebreaker: cumulative score 667.36)
East Coast Highwaymen (10th place, through tiebreaker: cumulative score 667.12)
Kings of the New South (11th place)

Zwangzug corps took the odd-numbered places in Docktown Memorial Stadium: first, third, and fifth.

Coming in last were the erratic Wild Foxen, who won the Auxiliary caption award nevertheless. "Do I know what's going on?" says their bemused director. "No, I do not. I'm guessing it's an endurance thing: it's been a long summer, and we've certainly faded throughout. We'll be resting before the quarterfinals, that's for sure-no, not like that!"

All three corps finished in the top eight: Haydensky came fourth, while the Wild Foxen tied for fifth with the Shadow Runners. The Canbix-based corps earned caption awards in Marching & Maneuvering and Bugles. "Most of the ensembles did pretty well," comments a tired bugler. "The emotion just needs to be there in the melody."

Haydensky took the gold, then, and took it in stride. "Don't tell the corps, but to a certain extent it's just the judges-they've seemed to appreciate our style more recently," says a drum major. Who's joking. We think.

Our suckage was dominant.
Our streak was untouchable.
Our drum and bugle core, was utter filth.
And not in a good way.

Haiku:

A tumpet hitting
The head of the drum major
So ends the failure.

SCORES FOR: October 28, Year 68

VENUE: Vanguard Stadium (AIDBCA World Tour Quarterfinals)

Eighth place: Wild Foxen (78.53}
Seventh place: Legion of the Red Shield (79.75)
Fifth place (tie): Shadow Runners (80.96)
Fifth place (tie): The Fadron Gang (80.96)
Fourth place: Hockey Playin' Nuts (81.88)
Third place: Haydensky (85.03)
Second place: Brigadiers (87.02)
First place: Hammerfest Anvils (87.09)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#October_28).

SEMIFINALISTS

Hammerfest Anvils
Brigadiers
Haydensky
Hockey Playin' Nuts
The Fadron Gang
Shadow Runners


ELIMINATED

Legion of the Red Shield
Wild Foxen

"That was sort of catastrophic."

Not much more that can be said about the Wild Foxen's battery percussion. The auxiliary was top-notch, the bugles accurate as usual...but snare snafus, and they finish last among the quarterfinalists.

The Shadow Runners finished in a dead heat with The Fadron Gang, tying for sixth. The former's bugles were as melodic as ever, with expressive chords and brooding undertones. In fourth place was Taeshan's other corps, the Hockey Playin' Nuts.

And in third was Haydensky, led by percussion and auxiliary. "It's so great," enthuses a color guard member. "I'll call home, and they'll be, like, How was your performance? So I'll tell them yeah, I just threw some rifles around...It's awesome."

The Brigadiers were ecstatic...after clawing their way up from the cellar all tour long, they were now just seven-hundredths of a point out of first place. "NOBODY SAW US COMING!" screamed mellophonist Harriet Sweeney, "NOBODY SAW US COMING BUT HERE WE ARE!"

SCORES FOR: November 9, Year 68

VENUE: Vanguard Stadium (AIDBCA World Tour Semifinals)

Sixth place: Shadow Runners (83.27)
Fifth place: The Fadron Gang (83.82)
Fourth place: Hockey Playin' Nuts (83.95)
Third place: Haydensky (85.38)
Second place: Brigadiers (89.01)
First place: Hammerfest Anvils (89.03)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#November_9).

FINALISTS

Hammerfest Anvils
Brigadiers
Haydensky
Hockey Playin' Nuts


ELIMINATED

The Fadron Gang
Shadow Runners

Another round of playoffs, another Zwangzug corps eliminated, and the six semifinalists finished in the same order they did in the quarterfinals.

Shadow Runners go home proud, anyhow, outperforming comparative veterans Wild Foxen (eliminated from participation in the third tour). "I felt, thematically, we had the most to really say," their director said proudly afterwards. "I understand this isn't the medium to really get a point across, but I hope we made the audience think."

It's their lighthearted counterparts Haydensky that will hope to defend their title in the finals, though pragmatically it should come down to the wire between the local Brigadiers and Skibereen's Hammerfest Anvils. The only other finalist is-unbelievably considering their three-consecutive-basement-finishes start-Taeshan's Hockey Playing Nuts.

"Don't judge a corps by its start," jokes a Wild Foxen mallet player. "Ahem."

As for Haydensky in the semifinals, their bugles blended like never before, perhaps the highlight of the night. "We were all covering for each other," brags the section leader. "One corps, one sound."

SCORES FOR: November 21, Year 68

VENUE: Vanguard Stadium (AIDBCA World Tour Finals)

Fourth place: Hockey Playin' Nuts (85.41)
Third place (World Tour Bronze Medalist): Haydensky (86.34)
Second place (World Tour Runner-Up and Silver Medalist): Hammerfest Anvils (90.09)
First place (World Tour Champion and Gold Medalist): Brigadiers (91.88)

Recaps available here (http://wikistates.outwardhosting.com/wiki/AIDBCA_World_Tour_II_Score_Recaps#November_21).

So the Brigadiers pull it out after all, by a decent margin, and well done too. Haydensky somehow does better on percussion than the non-musical attributes: as for the bugles, they seem to cover for the numerous mistakes to create an overall decent job. A good foundation to build on for next year, if they return, as seems likely.

Otherwise? The quiet success of the corps (not literally though) is likely to stay just that. Unless we rip off the haiku. That'd be cool.