NakedEye

And also, the "priests" are a pretty comedic part of the show. They're just funny with the hats and the veils and they way they bounce around with the sort of bawdy farce music that is happening. They remind me more of the mushrooms in Fantasia than religious figures. A few weeks ago, I thought they might be better served by reading the poem in its entirety at the beginning, to set the stage for what is about to happen, and then again at the end, for people to contemplate what they just saw. That said, they've improved the "cuisinart" chopping of the verse a great deal, and it is much for effectively layered as a musical/rhythmic texture than it was early in the season. As usual, they are making all the right changes.

I've thought all season that the drill is too controlled and measured, while the music can be very bombastic and menacing at times. If they "broke it" in places during the really intense parts, by just having some of the horn players fall out of the form, doing body work, as it moves, then reconnect with as it keeps moving, it would add a pulsating energy that might help. The drill doesn't have to be re-charted, just add some life to it. It moves very carefully from Point A to Point B a lot, which can be a bit of a disservice to the more dynamic parts of the music.

I’m sure they are all exhausted from the three high pressure shows in a row, plus everyone trying to outrun the stomach bug monster. Finally a recharge coming up.

I missed everything! 😭

Ah good. I have this issue and a wired connection and fast internet, but still wondered if it was something with my service. Overall though, Flo has seemed way better than in past years (other than sound balance).

This. Their design is so strong and layered. Bluecoats are getting the closest to them in this aspect and I think a component of that is some staff members that come from the broader world of art and design. Boston and Crown have really good marching arts shows, but there is something elevated about the compositions of the BD and BC shows, whether it be the visual look, movement style, or the theatrical way they handle entrances and exits. They are like great overall entertainment productions in general, that happen to have a basis in marching arts/pageantry.

And that’s what you want, right there. It is a teaching activity, after all. For those blathering endlessly recently that no one knows who Matisse is, well here is an example of people being so captivated by a show that they are going to embark on a new journey of discovery and appreciation. All it takes is a spark. A million years ago, I wrote some show reviews and other articles for Drum Corps World, and one piece was about this same subject, using the (then current) ‘90 Star Belshazzar’s Feast show as the example. People were spouting the same stuff then about it being too obscure, etc. But a lot of people came away from that show seeking out information and knowing more than they did before. How dull the world would be if we only were ever shown things we had already seen. I truly admire BD’s commitment over the past decade-plus to building shows around subjects that deserve the spotlight. In an age of greatly diminished arts education, they provide an invaluable service.

That day is always a problem, especially with everyone weakened from a week in the heat prior. I know a lot of them opted for separate free days last year with covid caution, and that’s probably the best course of action in the future as well. Not worth the consequences for a few hours at a mall and restaurants.

Like in 2016 (Tempest walls), 2018 (Nighthawks set), 2019 (wooden stage/walls), and in ‘22 (blue dripped on the white)? They’ve moved away from the plain white for quite a while now.

Looks like they got rid of it? Possibly because the pieces sat unused the rest of the show and they may have been hearing about that from the judges.

That's just my assumption, but they used to put out really extensive stuff and it has been much more sparse the past several seasons.

I know they filmed stuff for it, because they had a reel or something that showed quick clips of various members sitting in a chair to talk about the show, like they do every year. However, it's now pretty late, so it may be dumped all at once when they have it ready. I do miss the media team they had some years back, who released almost a mini-documentary every few weeks.

How about this - they pull fabric out of those openings first and then lay/pose on it in the shapes?! Best of both worlds! 😂 They have the guard massed on the props now, which makes it likely they will next tilt at least some of them up and go through the passage. It's fun to speculate, but I'm sure whatever they will do will add something great.

I think some of it may have to do with staging. BAC has some big intervals a good bit, where BD is often much tighter. That’s a greater risk/reward situation because the mistakes really jump out, but when they are on, like tonight, it creates fantastic impact. It’s the most technical program they’ve ever done and it’s really starting to cook.

Ok, still a point ahead with that messy new ending! The show is so packed with content that it’s looking pretty hard to sneak up on.

Also, the whole drum feature/ de Gaulle speech/Icarus flag section is a visual masterpiece. It’s just fascinating to watch the composition and how they build the mass section of horns for the choreography feature.

BD’s guard had their best run of the season. New ending with lots of music, and especially visual changes, has not locked in yet. Definitely something still to come with it.

The noticeable straight seams appear to just be the breaks between the multiple sheets of plywood used to make the flat surfaces, BUT there is also a round section, that you can see from the back is separately framed in aluminum. That looks like an opening that will be used for either people to go through or them to pull something out of, like big fabric printed with the cutout shapes... 🤔 I was thinking the other day that it was interesting that they started using the long colorful coats as a uniform change right from the very first show. That's a pretty significant GE moment, so if they put that in from the beginning, boy howdy something bigger is still to be revealed.

And if any of them had the misfortune of encountering the online vigilante trolls who were spamming any and all media BD-related, it would be unsettling, I'm sure. I believe that has been cleaned up/monitored now, so hopefully these immensely talented kids can put it all behind them and contain their focus to the hard work they have been doing for the past six months.

Emotional conflict, plus the remaining members having to mostly relearn much of the visual show to adjust the spacing, etc. They will bounce back soon.

I thought tonight might be the night she got through it. Made it to the very end and then....ohhhhhhh. It’s so crazy fast in tight spacing. I wonder if they overworked in the heat the past week. Tonight and Broken Arrow were tough runs. Hopefully they rest a bit and have better success in the a/c tomorrow.

Because they basically compose it on the field, in real time, with the members’ input. Very unique, organic process.

I think they have a fairly large evolution this year, similar to 2016-17. 19 and 22 were pretty structurally similar, but this one has a bunch of daring choices in it that further expand their capabilities and work really well.

These stadium lights are positioned to give the least glare Crown has had on the table prop all season. It looks so nice when you can actually see it.

Bizarro camera work aside, that hard reset did fix the stream. Mine was having micro freezes every few seconds before that.