BlooooContra Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 As always, keep in mind I have a lot of bias, and I really don't care. :) Anyone who has ever been to a Bluecoats' home show in the last 7 years (and probably much longer than that), knows that Paul Brown Stadium gets ROWDY. Bluecoats fans/alumni are some of the wildest people in DCI at shows, and it always provides a great atmosphere for performing members to get hyped up in and really throw it down. Though... not so much tonight. Maybe it was the early-season-ness of the show? The different location? The fact that Blue wasn't in one central place for a couple days? Who knows? But today's crowd, while still great, was NOWHERE near what we usually have happening down in Canton. Not even "BLOOOO"-ing like usual- oddly enough, most people around me weren't doing it at all, and the couple of us who were sounded solitary. The usual electricity was missing from Fawcett, but at least there were some great performances. My vantage point, btw, was on the 50, about 3/4 of the way up. Perfect seats (thanks Gen!) And now, with huge amounts of personal bias, on to the (brief) reviews, done in a little different format.... Dear Pioneer, Please fire your entire design staff. They do you no favors, and hold you back nearly every year. Branch out with your music more, and keep up the effort. Looking at the corps, it's obvious there's some talent there, but no one seems to be really cultivating it. I hope you guys come storming out one of these days and really take DCI by surprise. Dear Blue Stars, Nice choice on the new unis, although the helmet shape still reminds me of condoms. But eh, what are you gonna do? In your case, play and march better than you have in years, that's what. The uniform color usage was a really cool effect throughout the show, but I think sometimes it made things look overly cluttered when not staged properly. Contras, y'all had a couple really nice moments, and there are some great, warm sounds that seem to be starting to show their heads. You should be in semifinals solidly, and if the visual side of things gets some tweaks by the staff, finals might not be that far away. Good luck. Dear Colts, Welcome back! This was the first of your programs since 2001 that grabbed me. I love the new uniforms, and upper body presence seemed really evident compared to your last few seasons. Feet, however, were a bit of an issue. The tone of your show was also really inconsistent, but I blame that on your design team; the performances are really starting to be there. Personally, I don't think the Blue Stars should have been remotely as close to you as they were. Finals? I'm hoping! Dear Blue Devils, Your uniforms are sleek. Your talent level is high. Your drumline is smokin. But please, please, either make this show less about the guard or make the guard book (after the first 3 minutes, which are great!) more interesting! I feel like you wanted to do a combined guard/percussion WGI show, except you only wrote a few killer minutes and then just threw in filler until the end. As a corps, you can PLAY, not to mention MOVE! The drill is a step up from your waaaay too easily designed shows early this decade, which I'm digging, but it needs to be consistently GE-producing throughout. Oh, and thanks for not relying on soloists this year. I think you sound beautiful as an ensemble, and I'm glad you seem to think so now too. Dear Cavaliers, The first 30 seconds of your show sets the mood better than just about any DCI show I've seen in ages. Awesome. Obviously the current ending is gonna go, which is really going to help out a lot. Your show has attitude, which I think is something that the 4 corps before you lacked, at least consistently throughout their entire ensembles. Just make sure to clean your FEET some more; the ensemble vis is looking great for early July, but you should be thankful that your style inherently masks foot timing problems a little, because under scrutiny, they seemed quite a bit dirtier than BD. This show could be absolutely killer, and I can't wait to see how you end it down the road! Dear Bluecoats, This is the entire package. I understand you just did nothing but change the show for the last couple weeks, and it shows. You're light years dirtier than Cavaliers and Blue Devils, yet less than a point behind them. What does this mean? Potential to be great. Utilize it, and take that difficult drill and nearly non-stop licks and clean them up! Oh, and your guard integration? Consider it the new standard for the activity. Contra line, what more can I say? Get it a little cleaner and enjoy your spot in the history books. Just remember that in the end, difficulty will only get you so far. It has to be difficult AND pristine in August, boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rd_Star_Brigade Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Thank you for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDtraps91 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Dear Pioneer, Please fire your entire design staff. They do you no favors, and hold you back nearly every year. Branch out with your music more, and keep up the effort. Looking at the corps, it's obvious there's some talent there, but no one seems to be really cultivating it. I hope you guys come storming out one of these days and really take DCI by surprise. As One who knows all too well....it's not the design staff's fault. They are given a pretty well defined and restrictive framework to try to create and be competitive in. They do the best they can with the limitations. The root of the issue is higher up the ladder. I too wish that they come storming out someday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanjrusMcRynky Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 Very nice! You should do more of these, I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentleman Marcher Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I agree 100% about the Bluecoats guard integration. I've always been a hornline man, but my overall impression of the Bluecoats was that their visual designer knew exactly what he was doing placing the guard at all times. And the contra line too. Having met the mom of a Bloo contra player who jumped in right before the season started, I'd say they're incredible. Thanks much for your review! Great to read your impressions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbass598 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 As One who knows all too well....it's not the design staff's fault. They are given a pretty well defined and restrictive framework to try to create and be competitive in. They do the best they can with the limitations. The root of the issue is higher up the ladder. I too wish that they come storming out someday! While they may have limits, it is a self limiting factor. Nobody but themselves force them to play Irish music every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 So, how killer is Cavies Scenes ending? I love that toon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle z Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 So, how killer is Cavies Scenes ending? I love that toon The "real" ending will not be in until the Texas swing.. (thanks Blue Rock) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlamInvert122 Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 So, how killer is Cavies Scenes ending? I love that toon I think you mean "tune"... :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 I LOVE this review. One of my favorites so far this year! I love the concept of it. Thank you! ^OO^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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