Jump to content

2017 World Championships Prelims - Aug 10


Recommended Posts

6 minutes ago, luv4corps said:

Just home from the theater.  

Some thoughts:  I don't know if it was the theater's surround sound or the feed but the EQ was WAYYYY off.  Sub-woofers rattled the floor and dominated brasslines, esp. when synth had a heavy role in the bottom end.  It really affected some of the performances.  Like Mandarins for example.  Sound of Silence is one of my favorite ballads this year and it was all but drown out by overblown base.   When interviews were happening, all I could hear was the audience.  In spite of all of that, I had a fabulous time.

The corps that blew me out of my chair was.... the Cadets.  I absolutely fell in love with their show tonight.  

I agree with you on several fronts. The sound mix in the theatre was garbage. I could barely make out some of the voice overs (especially Boston and Cavies). Keyboards were extremely loud. Synths were overpowering. Snares sounded like they were doubled.

Serious question: Does Crown's last chord start with 100% brass and evolve into 100% electronics? It sounded that way in the theatre. 

I was pleasantly surprised by Blue Stars. Brass sound was incredible!

I was also totally entranced by The Cadets. It pulled me in from the beginning and I was engaged till the very end. 

Crown's vocalist blends in nicely. It has grown on me as the season progressed. I still don't like "No One" or the ending. 

SCV was incredible. Love this show, despite the mic'ed brass

BD has room to improve after tonight, which is scary. This is their first show in the last 5 years that I could listen to on repeat for 12 straight hours. 

All in all, a very enjoyable night at the theatre for Quarterfinals. Well done, DCI.

 

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, ShouldveMarchedAgeOut said:

Judges nailed it. 

So the GE2 judge who put Cavaliers in second and the GE2 judge who put Cavaliers in sixth both nailed it?

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

From the movie theater:

  • Holy cow the electronics were overwhelming. I don't think we heard a note of acoustic brass until the top 9. I sure hope this was something to do with mic placement and the balance is better live. Balance got better for the top groups.
  • Dynamics aren't a thing in dci anymore? Since everything is amplified, every solo, every sectional feature, every random special effect sound seems to come in at triple forte. It was probably the top 6 before I really heard clear dynamic contrast.
  • Best moment ... Rondo "What do you think of the controversy about Boston's show, with how many people get killed?", Will Pitts "You're asking the wrong guy!"

 

Cadets: I think there was a good artistic idea here - I genuinely liked the music development of Simple Song and Agnus Dei. But the idea of "faithful, fallen, forgiven" really got lost - I am not sure where a mostly-naked dude assaulting people with a cross came from. The choir was good, but ultimately they sang too many times when I wanted to hear the brass section.

Boston: Outstanding guard. In some ways the show seems like a "by the numbers" modern drum corps show, but they really are selling it, and the fire effect is the best trick of the year. I really liked their use of the singer.

Cavaliers: I am glad that I watched a member cam video of this show so that I appreciate better what they're doing on the field, because I really dislike it with the electronics, samples and voiceovers. I can't really make up my mind whether Mars + My Way is the worst musical idea of the summer or the worst musical idea in the history of DCI. The guard is pretty amazing though.

Bluecoats: I love this show, favorite music book of the summer. But I can't really argue with the placement - the clip of 16 that they played really showed that they don't have the same magic performance level this year. The ballad is maybe a weak repertoire choice, but I love the way the soloist played it tonight and I'm glad they now play part of it towards the audience. From the movie theater, the guard was pretty invisible in the black costumes.

Crown: They are an amazing drum corps, but it's a surprisingly sterile show from them. There's almost no emotional payoff from the ballad through the end. I guess this is the year they decided to challenge BD for the coveted "who can throw the most white #### on the field" trophy. 

Vanguard: Visually this is the show of the year - the whole thing never stops being fascinating to watch. The use of the props is just fantastic. Even from the theater, the small brass ensemble is a little uncanny since you can tell their sound doesn't come from where they are visually pointing their horns. I think they are probably going to wind up with the silver.

BD: I am surprised to be writing this, but they definitely have my 2nd favorite music book of the summer, and the one I was humming on the way out of the theater. A very nice update on the classic BD sound. I found them to have a more emotionally compelling show than Crown & Vanguard, and I think that's probably going to leave them with the gold.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Jake W. said:

Ok friends. Help me out. I just got home after being unable to attend BL&L and I don't feel like sifting through 138 pages. I'm sure this has been covered to death and I'm sorry about that. What's with the Semis schedule tomorrow? Are Cascades legitimately playing tomorrow? Why is SCVC going on so early? Most of the bottom corps seem rearranged in performance order. Is the schedule just a misprint? Again, I'm sure this topic has been covered, I just couldn't immediately find an answer. What's going on?

Has to be a screw up.  They have Seattle in (not), SCVC on in the first block before PAC Crest (nope), Academy on after Colts (uh, no), and Blue Stars on before Crossmen (:blink:).  Definite screw up.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, KRtrumpet182 said:

I agree with you on several fronts. The sound mix in the theatre was garbage. I could barely make out some of the voice overs (especially Boston and Cavies). Keyboards were extremely loud. Synths were overpowering. Snares sounded like they were doubled.

Serious question: Does Crown's last chord start with 100% brass and evolve into 100% electronics? It sounded that way in the theatre. 

I was pleasantly surprised by Blue Stars. Brass sound was incredible!

I was also totally entranced by The Cadets. It pulled me in from the beginning and I was engaged till the very end. 

Crown's vocalist blends in nicely. It has grown on me as the season progressed. I still don't like "No One" or the ending. 

SCV was incredible. Love this show, despite the mic'ed brass

BD has room to improve after tonight, which is scary. This is their first show in the last 5 years that I could listen to on repeat for 12 straight hours. 

All in all, a very enjoyable night at the theatre for Quarterfinals. Well done, DCI.

agreed x 10

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, skevinp said:

Same here.  I wonder if it wasn't amplified by the nature of some theater speakers.

My theater had these issues as well and I thought it was just bad EQ in the surround sound.  These corps that rely so heavily on synth base need to sit in a theater and hear what that overblown bass does to their hornlines!  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, N.E. Brigand said:

So the GE2 judge who put Cavaliers in second and the GE2 judge who put Cavaliers in sixth both nailed it?

Meh, haven't read the sheet yet. Just in general thought they got the top 12 right. Only disagreement I have is Seattle Cascades not making Semis. Or maybe they have, according to the schedule for tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, N.E. Brigand said:

So the GE2 judge who put Cavaliers in second and the GE2 judge who put Cavaliers in sixth both nailed it?

well I guess if the OP thought they should get 4th in GE? lol

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

they were the hit here as well - I personally felt they deserved a 94+ tonight. Obviously the judges (mostly) felt otherwise

I also disagreed with the order of several other corps - and see BD as about a 1 spot ahead of 2 & 3. So I know nothing!

THIS!!  I was there and saw it live. I can't figure out why they aren't getting more credit. I know they are young but that Cadet show is really freaking good. And their guard is severely underrated. They were on fire tonight. Executed better than some others yet still getting dumped. I just don't get it. And I'm not a huge Cadet fan usually. 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

I would have Boston below Blue Knights and Phantom. Sorry. Other than the guard (and the ballad) I just don't think the content is there for the scores they've been getting. I feel they are being vastly over scored. But I also feel the same about a couple others. The plume wiggling just drives me wacko - so that may be part of it.

I would have PR below both Blue Stars and Crossmen.  Very bad year for them IMHO.  Seems the "G7" moniker is still worth a few point bump.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...