Popular Post hostrauser Posted June 23, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted June 23, 2017 42 minutes ago, superOOk said: Credit to Ben Gunnarson I went in cold, that was my first viewing or listen to Bluecoats show this year. I'm impressed. To me, THIS show is the natural evolution of the great old Blue Devils and Madison Scouts shows of the late '80s and early '90s. Undiluted jazz, screamers, with some onions behind the music. The Blue Devils have become more jazz-ish/symphonic/jack-of-all-trades with their show designs, but last year and especially this year Bluecoats have taken a 1990s show theory and brought it into the 21st century (and I mean that as a compliment). I think it's loads better than Crown's design, although I do think Crown's brass is tighter at this point and has a harder book. It's interesting: Crown's show is about how different DCI has become, and the Bluecoats show seems to be almost about how drum corps is still drum corps, just tuned up a bit. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortAndFast Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 5 minutes ago, hostrauser said: I went in cold, that was my first viewing or listen to Bluecoats show this year. I'm impressed. To me, THIS show is the natural evolution of the great old Blue Devils and Madison Scouts shows of the late '80s and early '90s. Undiluted jazz, screamers, with some onions behind the music. The Blue Devils have become more jazz-ish/symphonic/jack-of-all-trades with their show designs, but last year and especially this year Bluecoats have taken a 1990s show theory and brought it into the 21st century (and I mean that as a compliment). I think it's loads better than Crown's design, although I do think Crown's brass is tighter at this point and has a harder book. It's interesting: Crown's show is about how different DCI has become, and the Bluecoats show seems to be almost about how drum corps is still drum corps, just tuned up a bit. I also think of old-school Madison Scouts books when I listen to both Bloo 16 and now Bloo 17. If you took someone from 1988 and transported them to a Bloo rehearsal with no uniforms, they'd certainly think it was Madison (I mean after they recovered from their heart attack at the props, the amps, the trombones ...). Their music team deserves a ton of credit both for the commitment to not chopping up their source material, and for figuring out a way to make this style of show work in modern DCI. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superOOk Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 (edited) 19 minutes ago, ShortAndFast said: Their music team deserves a ton of credit both for the commitment to not chopping up their source material, and for figuring out a way to make this style of show work in modern DCI. Doug Thrower did an amazing job of doing just that. His arrangement of the Zappa material is what makes this show work IMHO. And Thank You Scientist even said it was done better then they did it. Edited June 23, 2017 by superOOk 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Lancer Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 8 minutes ago, superOOk said: Doug Thrower did an amazing job of doing just that. His arrangement of the Zappa material is what makes this show work IMHO. And Thank You Scientist even said it was done better then they did it. I have said it before ... Doug Thrower is the most underrated arranger in DCI. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake W. Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 Watched the tour premier and today found the HD full rehearsal run through video that a few had referenced. Hands down agreed, just comparing the two, that last night seems to have been a rougher run. Full disclosure, I adored last year's show and am certainly no slave to tradition or the way things used to be, so none of what I saw last year or this year is bothersome. Just the opposite, actually --- I'm in love with this show already. THIS is what the bones of a seamless, detailed, fully-integrated design looks like. Visually, the design is just plain masterful. They don't just stand on the giant prop; they march through it march on it, march down it, hide in it, use it to complete forms...it's truly, TRULY an integral part of the drill, as much as the hashes or yard lines, and that's so cool. I know this is for another thread on here, but I vehemently believe Bloo's lasting legacy of these shows they're putting out will be that they were the first corps to really explore visual books that exist in multiple planes. On a lighter note, once the hullabaloo around these shows subside in a few seasons, I also think these shows will be remembered as uncannily FUN, and will hold their listening & watching value over years to come. On another note, completely agreed with the multiple posts about this being a smart, current reincarnation of the best 90s shows. I spent a good portion of last season arguing on the Madison thread that the activity as a whole had moved on from the chop 'n' bop (even BD) style that was experimented with for a few seasons, and most of the moving past that is thanks to Crown, but Bloo is playing a MASSIVE roll in that as well; producing absolutely magical music books that let the source material stand on its own. Final note, I also thought that this was Down Side Up.2 upon initial viewing, and was even sort of meh about it, but something has kept me hooked and I've rewatched it a couple of times today, appreciating and then finally falling in love with it in a rapid turnaround from last night. I think I mistook innovation with vertical planes to mean similarities all around, but beyond exploring that concept further this year, there's very little that resembles last year. This is a monster of a show. I'm ecstatic at the thought of seeing what it develops into by the end of the season. I've seen a video of BD, and they too have a masterful design lined up. This will shape up to be quite the dogfight! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superOOk Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 It will definitely be a BD vs. Bloo year me thinks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 I found a cat in a bowler. posted from the DrumScorps app 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superOOk Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 (edited) For those of you who thought the ramp was dangerous, this is what it looked like a few weeks ago: Edited June 23, 2017 by superOOk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Lancer Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 2 hours ago, superOOk said: Credit to Ben Gunnarson Yes, this is a much better run than last night's. Euph solo was off like last night, but everything else looks so much better. You can even get a sense of what Grow 'Till Tall is supposed to sound like, even with a crappy cell phone video and audio. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry7184 Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 12 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said: I found a cat in a bowler. posted from the DrumScorps app You are crazy. I think I love you (in a friendly way). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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