zig zig ZAG Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 After work, by the time I got to Monticello the corps had been practicing since 7 AM. They looked exhausted during drink breaks, but played and marched like they just started. Unreal intensity. (Note - I saw them practice last year too, and a number of times in years past, and I'd call this group the most intense I've ever seen. You may hate the design, but these kids appear to be working on executing an unprecedented difficulty level, and they've done a couple somewhat hard shows in the past) While I've not seen the whole show until their practice yesterday - and only one run through - it seems that they've made some significant changes compared to the video clips I've seen (which were all incomplete and out of context anyway). If anyone else has seen them in the last week or so, I'd love to know what modifications they've made, beyond what people reported Hop blogging about. (I should mention that this thread can either be hijacked by trolls and venomous, ugly, corps haters, or we can get some serious discussion. We'll see what happens). The beginning of the show is changed as far as I can tell. It's not the same 30 plus seconds as I've read, but eerie, disorienting, interesting. A tiny - 5 seconds - reprise of the whistling from Kill Bill, three chords from the "opening door" theme of last year, but that's it for repeated music. The percussion feature no longer has individual snares soloing on a pink bench and doing that stick toss (wow!), etc.. Now they're actually standing on the field (which is clearly a nod to the "firm footing" of status quo drum corps, or else a concession to attorneys who don't want Pink Bench Incorporated sued for a snare breaking his neck). Also, the show ending is not the same as last year save for, by my watch, 13 seconds of music. I'd say that last year's show could actually be seen as more choppy than this year. This show seems more unified around a single theme, smoother transitions, and actually pretty easy to follow if you've ever read or watched Alice in Wonderland. Plus last year's only unifying theme was the door and the girl(s). This year is one pretty darn clear theme, I think. Still lots of work to do, and I bet they'll make more changes in the right direction. They have a lot of gadgets, but they don't seem gimmicky to me. I've seen more props on the field before than the cadets have this year: remember Star's circus show?, BD (the show with the dice? the jacks? backdrops? black platforms?), and I can list others. The ballad is stunning. I've heard the singer on rehearsal clips and I had trouble with the intonation, balance, and even grit my teeth once or twice worrying that it would not be possible to pull it off. But they do. It sounds fantastic now. The hornline is not a backup group, but the vocals are quite seamless, and the effect is truly beautiful. I loved last year's ballad, one of the two best (along with Phantom's), but this year's is already better. The difficulty in the horn and percussion book is something I've never heard before from the Cadets, not to speak of the drill. We'll see if they can clean it up and execute. It's very dirty now, even for the Cadets in early-mid July. Judging by other people's comments on other shows, I think the Cadets have got to be the dirtiest of the "top five" corps out there right now. But that also means a lot of room to grow. And I mean room to grow past 99.15 If they do, well, George may be right, and a number of DCP members will have to resign their membership, stop attending any and all DCI shows, stop buying CDs or DVDs, and start watching the Ohio State Marching Band, who surely are the true keepers of drum corps tradition, and who never fail to spell "Ohio" correctly. Maybe the Cadets should do script Cadets every year, then they'd never offend anyone. I can't wait to see BD, the 'Coats, Cavvies, Phantom, etc. in Madison. I hope that every corps and every show can reach its full potential. I hope the critics are never silenced. If there's a lot to talk about, that's a great thing. And I also wish that more corps would follow Jean Cocteau's dictum: "Whatever they criticize, intensify it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 start watching the Ohio State Marching Band, who surely are the true keepers of drum corps tradition Good to see I'm not the only who who's thought so! HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rut-roh Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 And I also wish that more corps would follow Jean Cocteau's dictum: "Whatever they criticize, intensify it." Fortunately for the Cadets, they can afford to intensify it. Other corps without their pedigree get hammered for it by the judges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCVdrums Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Yes, there is the possibility that, although BD, Cavies, 'Coats, and Phantom all have outstanding shows this year, Cadets could grow this show into a DCI title winner. They seem to be on a slow but steady train to perfection, much like last year. Of couse, at which time the big bang expansion will cease, the universe with swallow itself whole and all that will be left is a very dense compression of matter.........on a pink bench...... Good luck to all corps.....remember, our future and the future of the universe in is your hands.... It's just drum corps.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gear48 Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 The beginning of the show is changed as far as I can tell. It's not the same 30 plus seconds as I've read, but eerie, disorienting, interesting. A tiny - 5 seconds - reprise of the whistling from Kill Bill, three chords from the "opening door" theme of last year, but that's it for repeated music. The percussion feature no longer has individual snares soloing on a pink bench and doing that stick toss (wow!), etc.. Now they're actually standing on the field (which is clearly a nod to the "firm footing" of status quo drum corps, or else a concession to attorneys who don't want Pink Bench Incorporated sued for a snare breaking his neck). Also, the show ending is not the same as last year save for, by my watch, 13 seconds of music. geez i really loved their closer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawker Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 If they do, well, George may be right, and a number of DCP members will have to resign their membership, stop attending any and all DCI shows, stop buying CDs or DVDs, and start watching the Ohio State Marching Band, who surely are the true keepers of drum corps tradition, and who never fail to spell "Ohio" correctly. Maybe the Cadets should do script Cadets every year, then they'd never offend anyone. Can't resist the "intellectualism" swipe, I see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willard455 Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 id like to thank zig zag for his post. For me its good to hear whats really going on and get a feel for where the cadets are at right now. Its a breath of fresh air in all this bashing. <3 thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurdra Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 (I should mention that this thread can either be hijacked by trolls and venomous, ugly, corps haters, or we can get some serious discussion. We'll see what happens). You know, if you truly wanted to keep this to be a "serious" discussion, you should have refrained from your own "venomous, ugly" comments like the following: ... and start watching the Ohio State Marching Band, who surely are the true keepers of drum corps tradition, and who never fail to spell "Ohio" correctly ... Which, by the way, has to be the most ironic comment I've read from George Hopkins supporters yet, considering it is he, not we, that is determined to turn drum and bugle corps into the summer equivalent of cheesy high school/college band half-time shows. In Hopkins' own words, "Drum Corps = Marching Band", remember? If we should expect anyone to start "spelling" during a drum corps show anytime soon, it would be the Cadets . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 After work, by the time I got to Monticello the corps had been practicing since 7 AM. They looked exhausted during drink breaks, but played and marched like they just started. Unreal intensity. (Note - I saw them practice last year too, and a number of times in years past, and I'd call this group the most intense I've ever seen. You may hate the design, but these kids appear to be working on executing an unprecedented difficulty level, and they've done a couple somewhat hard shows in the past) Thanks for the update on the corps. I agree they are an extremely hard working bunch - last year's unit was known for this too - even in Cadet lore (and their work-ethic is legendary) - but this year has a "run back to your set" mentality I've rarely seen. It's extremely impressive. The changes you refer to sound like the first few I've heard about - I know they were going to revise the opening and closing and work to clarify some transitions and some parts in the drum solo... sounds like they've got a bit of that into the show. The difficulty of the program is amazing - the hardest I've ever seen - it will be interesting to see how the changes work out for them. Thanks again, George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 I wonder how long the thread would be if we just merged all the "Cadet" threads together....just "thinking out loud"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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