Moomitch

Looking back at this topic, I wonder how much of an effect hearing loss and age has to do with feelings about Bb instruments. If someone was around in the good old days of DCI, then they are bound to have some natural hearing loss from age, as well as whatever extra from being a part of the activity and the loudness that accompanies it. Does this effect how they are hearing brass lines today, and are comparing that to what they felt in the past when their hearing was better?

One thing I will add to this. I became a fan of DCI in the heyday of fan network around 2008-2009, while I was in high school. A big reason why I became a fan was getting fan network and going back and watching previous year's shows. I was able to catch up on some of the history of the activity in a relatively short amount of time and with great ease. That is to say that if we look at catering to the current fans, it would obviously be cost-prohibitive to pay for the rights. But it could also make for new lifelong fans if they were more available.

To be fair though, the Cadets do have three 30 foot tall props, and the bluecoats have built up their electronics stable for a while now.

Oh sorry... What I actually mean is that everyone hates marching cymbals and wants to melt them all down in a giant ceremonial fire.

What I believe Jeff is trying to get across is that there is a difference in sound and the effects possible with marching cymbals rather than cymbals in the pit. Marching cymbals are much more than the occasional crash, and offer a distinct challenge and color to the percussion section.

I am curious to hear from you all about this. Do you care about the cohesiveness of a show concept? There is a lot of praise for BD's design, but I have a hard time buying in. To me, it seems like they are going for a collection of moments, and fitting those moments to their show theme. This is in contrast to a show like Session 44 which feels almost all driven by the show concept. The execution and performance of both of these shows is fantastic, but I find the transitions in BD's show really jarring, and the moments to be only loosely related to their overall theme.

I think that is a good way to show people why things have changed. I think the beauty of this activity is that it has consistently progressed and changed. We have past shows that you can look back on if you desire that style. But do we really think there is something left to be done within that style?

I'm surprised no one has mentioned E=mc2 yet. That and this years bluecoats are the two shows that seem to have the most seamless integration. The vocals in those shows play an integral part of the style, where as most others could have easily been a henline moment.