JulesBry

Really? You've been waiting for this to come along? I wonder how many other people have been waiting for this show. I won't even hazard a guess. :-) Diversity is great, but at some point, we have to ask ourselves what size of a minority is worth producing a show for. Is it worth spending a whole summer to please 1% of the fan base? 10%? 49%? What if you could please 80% or 90%? Would that be a better option? I have my answers, but I suppose each corps has to answer that question for themselves. And when corps choose to please the 1% I'm going to point it out whether I happen to be in the 1% or the 99%. I'm sure you'll do the same. It's what makes discussion interesting.

I know! My biggest comment in the theater for the Akron show was, "Crown and Bluecoats look more like the Cavies than the Cavies do." Of course, I later realized that this was at least partially because of the overabundance of close-ups during the Cavies show.

And have the judges reflected the varying levels of a&e competency? While the jury is still out, I'm not overly optimistic that bad choices will be punished and good choices will be rewarded.

You know, I'm fine with putting a new twist on an old favorite. Composers have been doing this for centuries. At one point, it was seen as an honor for a colleague to put their spin on your work. However, I want to hear students play it, not computers. And more specifically, I want to hear brass and percussion play it, not pianos and strings. As I've said many times before, if I want an orchestra, I'll go to a concert hall. If I want techno music, I'll go to a rave. But when I want brass and percussion, I go to Drum Corps. If Drum Corps ceases to be about brass and percussion, where will we go to hear that unique sound?

Mainly because it doesn't sound like drum corps, and instead sounds like something I don't want to listen to. That's exactly why I refuse to accept it. Perhaps synths can be used effectively, but this show is the epitome of seasonings from a chef with no taste buds.

If I could plus this a thousand times, I would. You've hit the nail on the head (and far more succinctly than I can be).

Perhaps not specifically, but someone said that they applauded out of "respect", and that implies that the students want respect more than they want to inspire and excite their audience. Perhaps some are involved in drum corps only to receive respect, but I think most want much more than that. Obviously, I'm assuming, but I don't know many people who sign up for any kind of musical experience solely to garner "respect".

Actually, the first time I saw their geometrical drill, I was hooked. It's what I live for (and one of the reasons their show in the theater disappointed me--the camera man wouldn't back out far enough to see the drill, so I thought they just hadn't put any in. When I saw it from the high camera on the FN, I realized that there is more "classic" Cavies drill there than I thought.) And to this day, when I show videos of that kind of drill (whether from the Cavies or someone else), people get excited. Stylized dance moves (again, whether from BD, Cavies, or anyone else)? Not so much.

Here are some favorites Cavies' S pin Cycle, Frameworks, Niagara Falls, Machine, XtraordinarY (I'm an admitted Cavies fan) Bluecoats Imagine, Seasons of Jazz (1998) SCV Moto Perpetuo (one of my favorite theme shows of all time), Ballet for Martha BAC Revolution, RED PR Spartacus (such a great story to watch on the field!) Glassmen Beethoven (2006) (the "going deaf" effect is one of the best effects I've ever seen/heard) Cadets An American Revival (still makes me cry), We Are the Future (2000), Our Favorite Things, The Big Apple BD Gangster Chronicle, Casablanca, Rhythms at the Edge of Time Magic 12 Seconds to the Moon These are all shows that I understood the first time I saw them (no extra reading required), but that intrigued me. They made me want to find out more. And as I go back and watch/listen to them again and again, I find new details that make them even more interesting. It's a balance. Immediate connection and effect leads to long-term interest. If you miss the first step, what person new to the activity (or old to the activity) is going to say, "you know, I didn't get that show, but I'm going to spend a considerable amount of time trying to figure out why it's amazing." Most people simply aren't willing to give that kind of time to something they know little about other than, "well that was weird."

I'm glad that you enjoy their shows. The problem, though, is that BD keeps winning and/or finishing very high with shows that a lot of people don't understand, and therefore don't enjoy. Over time, other corps will start to implement the things they're doing in the interest of finishing higher in the standings. When that happens, I think DCI loses. For one, we lose the diversity that has been cited as a beautiful thing. For another, we lose audience. In the past several years, every show I've seen in public (both in theaters and live) where BD has performed, they've received cold receptions. The response at Standford seems to have been mixed. That's not the kind of excitement that builds a fan base for the activity as a whole. So to make a long post short (too late), it's not good enough because I see it as a potential long-term danger to the activity as a whole. Because every time I've shown a recent BD production (excepting 1930) to new people (via the FanNetwork), I've gotten a collective, "What the...?" from them. Thanks for the compliment. Cadets last year wasn't my favorite show (especially with the annoying vocal samples), but I "got it" and appreciated the way it illustrated a theme. I'm fine with a corps choosing not to have a theme, but if they pick one, they'd better live up to it. And in either case, I want to hear great brass and percussion play excellent music while executing amazing drill. If I want dance, I'll go to the ballet. If I want strings and woodwinds, I'll find a wind ensemble or orchestra. That isn't what Drum Corps is about, and it bothers me that people are so deadset on changing what has made drum corps so exciting for so long. BD is a part of that (along with many other corps). Hopkins' woodwinds rants are a part of that. Synths are a part of that. So, when I see a corps "pushing the envelope" by fundamentally changing what I see as the inherent beauty of drum corps, I'm going to say something about it. Others are free to disagree. They may even like what they see (I love orchestras, wind ensembles, and dance--just not in Drum Corps). Each person makes their own choices and shares their own feelings. I'm just sharing mine as well.

No problem. Although, I probably just assumed I was part of the collective. (Wait, was that a Borg reference?) :-)

Unless you happen to love whatever sameness is on the field. :-) Honestly, I don't want everyone to look or sound alike. But I wouldn't mind for the first-time DCI attendee to be able to "get it" without having to read an online description. I would prefer for them not to be confused and disappointed in the DCI Champion (whomever it may be). I want them to feel the same exhilarating rush I've felt so many times when a chord locked in perfectly, or people were running and playing in ways that I thought were impossible. Some of that was in the BD show, but there were so many distractions (as others have pointed out), that I missed the forest for the trees. I found myself trying to tune out stuff or make connections where there seemed to be none. As I said before, I was having to think too hard to appreciate the show. Thus, my original question... Can BD produce a show for those of us who are too stupid to figure out what they're trying to do? Perhaps the answer is no, but I suppose there's always next year.

And I never said either of those things. I've said that I wished a show wouldn't win (while agreeing that it probably would), though I haven't even said that about any shows this season. And I've said (on multiple occasions including earlier in this thread), if you like it, fine. I just don't. It just happens that BD has had several shows in recent years that are on my "I don't get it" list. That's all.

In other words, we should love the type of show you love--all of them. I wish I could, but I just can't. I suppose that's what makes me who I am. I can't change the things that make me stand up and yell or the things that make me smile or weep. I suppose we could all just keep to ourselves what we enjoy, but that would make for rather boring discussion, wouldn't it?

I don't hate the Blue Devils. I don't like their show designs through the recent years, but I don't hate them. In fact, I would love to love them (as I did in 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2002, for example). They just keep leaving me flat, confused, and/or disinterested. Anything but excited. If that's hating, then I think you might want to work on your definition. Although this year, I'm not even loving my favorite corps (The Cavaliers)--hopefully they'll win me over by the end of the season, but it's too early to tell just yet. I am, however, really enjoying Bluecoats, SCV, Crown, and to a slightly lesser extent, The Cadets, so all is certainly not lost.

Exactly what I'm trying to avoid. Here's the type of show I love. You get the big idea the first time you see it, and it entices you to want to see it again and again. The next time you see it, you find new tidbits that help you understand the show even more. The next time you see it, there's something else to explore. It's like an onion--layer upon layer upon layer. That, in my mind, is perfection. If I have to read the program notes to have any appreciation for it at all, then the music/visual has failed. I can deal with a title--perhaps even a subtitle. Beyond that, it's too much. If I want to read a book, I'll read a book. If I want to enjoy drum corps, I'll go to a drum corps show (unless, of course, BD is playing something recent). I shouldn't have to do the former to enjoy the latter. Again, I point everyone to a wonderful story called "The Emperor's New Clothes". :-)

And then there's this, though I would have said, "Even WITH a theme to view it by, it can come across as scattered musical ideas with no cohesiveness. Especially that opening."

Mainly because the shows aren't all that entertaining without a theme to pull it together. I enjoyed the 1930's show (though I don't think it was challenging enough to have deserved the scores it received), but outside of that one, I have to go back more than a decade to find a BD show that I could enjoy strictly on the merits of the program presented (without any further explanation). Again, I don't claim to be the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. I freely admit that I may be too stupid to get BD. But I don't think I'm alone. I want to like them, but they just aren't giving me things that I like. It's as simple as that. If they float your boat, good for you.

I wish I could plus this, but I'm all out of positives for the day (and it's not even 2 AM yet!)

The music was far more accessible last year, but the theme made no sense. (Had they called it "A House Is Not a Home", I probably would have liked it much more, but they didn't.) I'm just tired of getting to the end of shows and having to think, "What was the theme? How did the music relate? Oh, they're so clever." when what I really want to think is "WOW! That absolutely blew my mind! Did you hear those high notes? That's what I call loud! Have you ever seen people move so fast while playing?" In other words, I want something that is simply mindblowing, not something that is so complicated it blows my mind. :-)

I said the same thing about the many Cadets shows with narration. Shut up and play! :-)

So I'll say it again. Can BD for once produce a show for those of us too dumb to get what they're trying to say? Seriously, some people call it "contemporary art". I call it the Drum Corps Equivalent of the Emperor's New Clothes.

Ah, sarcasm, how I love thee!

That's it? Did they just run out of time or something?

Just once, could BD produce a show for those of us who are obviously too stupid to figure out what they're trying to do? :-) I'm tired of thinking.