Drum Corps has been churning out ground-breaking and innovative shows since long before the founding of Drum Corps International. So there will be innovative shows that do not show up on my list.

Here is my criteria: I choose my top ten shows based on pure emotion. Not my own, but how the show evoked emotion from me when I watched. Some of them are entertaining. And some of them are emotional in that "reach into your chest and grab your heart" way that only DCI at its best can provide.

Let's get started.

1. 1996 - Phantom Regiment (Tied for 1st - 97.4)

Defiant Heart - the music of Dimitri Shostakovich
4th Ballet Suite Intro
First Symphony, Mvmt. 2
Fifth Symphony, Mvmt. 4

If I could go back and see one show live, it would be this one. I may have worn out my Legacy Collection DVD of this show. The programming of this Shostakovich music is near perfect. The four contra soli to begin what is a cello pizzicato from the source material is haunting. This hornline had a warm sound that Michael Cesario described as "like taking a bath in warm chocolate." An unusually creative drum solo from Lee Beddis brought a great energy to the second tune. The driving emotion of the Fifth Symphony--the heart of the show--is what really puts this on top for me. This closer is drum corps at its finest, and may be the best Regiment closer of all time. And who doesn't love a snare line with Tim Fairbanks in the center?

2. 1989 - Santa Clara Vanguard (1st - 98.8)

The Phantom of the Opera by Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber
Angel of Music
Masquerade
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again
Track Down this Murderer

The late 80's and early 90's were the golden era for Broadway in drum corps. This show combines my all time favorite musical and drum corps to form one of my all time favorite shows. Vanguard did a ton of things right in this repeat of their repertoire from the year before. A smoking drum line, incredible horn line, and a glamorous guard all combined in a show which is at once old school and new school. Plus, the ending to this show is as breathtaking as it gets. It was quite worthy of the source material.

3. 2000 - Cadets (Tied for 1st - 97.65)

We Are the Future (Millenium Celebration, by Gavin Greenaway) Tapestry of Nations (Prologue from Mvmt. III)
Prologue
Chaos and Meaning (Mvmt. I)
The Sage of Time
The Promise (Mvmt. IV)

Normally when I watch compilation videos of the "best of XXXX year" on YouTube I get agitated because the person making them has a clear bias. Like, come on man, you can't possibly think that a corps that came in 8th place truly has 55% of the "best moments" of that particular year! They came in 8th!

So at this point in the list, it's my responsibility to own up the fact fact that I bleed Maroon & Gold and am a huge homer. I've tried hard to limit the number of Cadets shows I have on this list, but I marched there so I have a clear attachment to the corps. They pull my heartstrings. I may be the one person on the planet who didn't want to hit little Geoffrey in the head in 2010.

But I digress. You have my full disclosure. I marched Cadets and they are the corps that appears most on my list.

Cadets 2000 was another show that grabbed your soul. The opening clock segment was a near impossible environmental demand for the entire corps, and the opening hit into Chaos was simply awesome.

Of course, everyone remembers this show for the "anything you can do, I can do better" drum feature with the bass line playing traditional grip, the horns moving each others valves, and the famous tenor feature where they ran around the drums. From there, through the company front to the end is perhaps one of the most exciting closing moments in drum corps to me. Seeing it live was nothing short of spectacular, and it is a memory I will always cherish (along with the crowd chanting "NO MORE TIES!!!" after the scores were announced).

4. 2013 - Carolina Crown (1st - 98.3)

E=MC2 Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss
Einstein on the Beach by Phillip Glass
Walking with Heroes by Paul Lovatt-Cooper
The Devil's Bridge by Bertrand Moren
The Abyss by Alan Silvestri
The Light Fantastic by Paul Lovatt-Cooper
The Dark Side of the Moon by Paul Lovatt-Cooper

I once tried to watch Einstein on the Beach. I fell asleep after 30 minutes. Crown's first 30 seconds, however, are perhaps the most brilliant 30 opening seconds to a show ever. The discordant voices inviting the viewer into the mind of a genius is subtle enough that one is not totally sure if the effect is meant to be unsettling or enthralling.

Crown has had many amazing horn lines. This is maybe their second best ever (behind 2014's - they got absolutely hosed out of the Jim Ott Trophy). The beauty of the narration is the ballad was enough to make even the crustiest old school drum corps veteran appreciate the use of spoken word in a drum corps show. The transition into an exciting closer, the highlight of which was the rotating prism, that showed the world that Cadets did not have a monopoly on dangerous drill moves.

The best part of this show was the magic of the crowd. Anyone there could feel the crowd absolutely just willing Crown to its first championship.

5. 1999 - Blue Devils (Tied for 1st - 98.4)

Rhythms . . . at the Edge of Time Malambo (Finale from Estancia) by Alberto Ginastera
Powerhouse: Rhumba for Orchestra (Rhumba) by Graeme Koehne
Powerhouse: Rhumba for Orchestra (Samba) by Graeme Koehne
Adios Nonino by Astor Piazolla
Unchained Melody by Graeme Koehne
The Dirty Boogie by Brian Setzer

The first year that DCI tried a live broadcast in a long time posed some some interesting angles, but this is still an awesome show to watch. It is the last year that I truly loved the Blue Devils. The surto drum opening statement was just awesome. Blue Devil's horn line is always good, but this one was outstanding. The moment in the ballad where they are backing up away from the audience and yet still manage to crescendo the entire time is miraculous.

Blue Devils tied for their 10th championship--becoming the first Corps to break double digits--with a driving closer paying homage to world rhythms that had been featured in the earlier portions of the show.

6. 1998 - The Cavaliers (4th - 93.8)

Traditions for a New Era The Path Between the Mountains by Jay Kennedy
Lento (from Dance Movements) by Philip Sparke
Molto Vivo (from Dance Movements) by Philip Sparke
Machine by William Bolcom

Cavies' 50th Anniversary show was a clinic in brilliant programming. This show wove together elements from old Cavaliers shows and modern shows. It ended with a driving closer which the staff described as a "lense into the future" of what the Cavaliers would become.

I was enthralled by an opening drill set which covered the entire field. It seemed like Michael Gaines was making a statement as to how large a role the corps would play in the next few years. The guard playing crash cymbals was a nod to a former Cavaliers show. The drum break featured drill moves that became famous in the early 90s.

The highlight to me was perhaps the cheesiest part of the show: the company front where the hornline high steps over the color guard laying down always brings me chills.

7. 2016 - Bluecoats (1st - 97.65)

"Down Side Up"Jose / Before John 5 by Aurel Hollo
Heat of the Day by Pat Metheny / Lyle Mays
Raga Raja by Project Trio
Udacrep Akubrad by Avner Dorman
Great Gig in the Sky (from Dark Side of the Moon) by Pink Floyd
Original by Doug Thrower
Todo Tiende by Ojos De Brujo

It may be a little early to anoint this show as one of the most influential of all time, but I agree with Michael. We will be discussing this show in a decade, and probably even longer than that.

The uncanny ability of Bluecoats to take a very abstract show concept and make it accessible is amazing to me. This year in particular, Bluecoats' ability to drive the activity forward is breathtaking.

The ramps have added a fourth dimension to the pallet upon which visual designers can draw effectively for the first time. Ramps haven't done it, and neither has scaffolding. Weird boxes haven't done it. But these ramps seem natural on the field. They are moved like people, and they are so seamlessly integrated into the overall musical and visual program that they just do not seem out of place.

8. 2005 - Cadets (1st - 99.15)

The Zone (Dreamscapes in Four Parts with a Door) Twisted Nerve (from Kill Bill) by Bernard Herrmann
Liquid by Jay Bocook
Overture to a New World (from Dancer in the Dark) by Bjork
Cvalda (from Dancer in the Dark) by Bjork
Vertigo by Bernard Herrmann
False Mirrors by Jay Bocook
Medea's Dance of Vengeance (from Medea) by Samuel Barber

The greatest ballad of all time. The greatest percussion writing in a ballad of all time. The most unreasonable response to a percussion feature in the history of the activity.

Seriously: you were mad about that? Cool. Then tell me how mad you got when Blue Devils did it in the snare break in 03.

This was Marc Sylvester's Mona Lisa. This overall concept remains one of the most intriguing thought experiments in drum corps history. The negative version on the back of the uniform was brilliant. The door was so simple and yet elegant. The way the corps utilized those two things alone was worth a championship.

An outstanding guard, incredible hornline, and the last drum line in a dynasty era were really just the icing on the cake. The show was the star here.

9. 2011 - Cadets (1st - 98.35)

Between Angels and Demons Angels in the Architecture by Frank Ticheli
160 BPM from Angels and Demons by Hans Zimmer
The Doxology by Loys Bourgeois
Amazing Grace (traditional)
Angels in the Architecture by Frank Ticheli

This show did not have it all. This drum line was adequate, but not excellent. This show, much like 2005, relied on the overall product to drive it to excellence. As an alumnus, I was worried when I started hearing rumors about the uniform plans the corps had before the season began. But this was worth it. Jeff Sacktig's background in math helped shape a visually brilliant program that divided the corps, split the corps, and united the corps. Man, it was spectacular.

The ending is a sight to behold. No one, and I mean NO ONE, does a company front to the end like the Cadets. Jeff's ability to take a straight line, reshape it, play with your attention, emotion, and drill it all home with the music is unparalleled. The two different uniform colors only added to this particular ending.

10. 1997 - Crossmen (6th - 93.0)

The Colors of Jazz Birdland by George Shearing
You are my Sunshine by Singers Unlimited
Niner Two by Don Ellis

Listen: there is a special place in every drum corps fan's heart for the first show they saw live. This one was mine. Crossmen placed the highest they have ever placed this year. The drum line--almost all imports of University of Massachusetts since it was Thom Hannum's first year back with the group--had an outstanding year, finishing fourth in percussion. The guard and horn line were also excellent.

There's something just right about Crossmen playing Birdland. Niner Two was a fantastic percussion feature, and the drive to the end of the show is what sold me on watching drum corps live. It was a powerful brass ending, and that rifle ten at the end was amazing.

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