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Are shows getting too complicated to watch?


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Some shows are just better live, and take a couple of viewings to get into. I don't particularly like watching Cadets 05 on DVD, but live it was amazing because the visual effects with the uniform backs and other stuff like that "popped" a lot more in person than it did on DVD. But that's just one example.

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"Are shows getting too complicated to watch?"

I'd bet "NOT" - if you ask some designers.

My bet is they'd like the audience to pre- (and post-) study the show like it was a masterful Shakespearean play, perhaps even speculate on the designers intent and/or mindset...

....I forsee mandatory band class essays requiring students to "compare and / or contrast Designer A's XYZ Corps 2008 show with Designer B's Gascony Cadets 2009 show"...

....high art, donja know...

So a personal question, if you dont mind. How many shows, this year, were so complicated that you couldnt bear to watch? Personally, and i never really read the corps sites or programs to get the gist, i only had problems with a few. I mean, so what if you didnt get every nuance of bd's show, you could easily get the wings, and the overall journey of darkness to light. Even with the controversial design, the cadets show was about as simple as you can get. Phantom, Crown, and Bloo had absurdly easy concepts that even a 5th grader could have comprehended. I mean seriously, birds...horses....cops and robbers...MICHAEL JACKSON?!....how much simpler do you want?? Even SCV, which was mostly abstract, still connected with the audience incredibly well, and the idea of "eureka, I've found it", should be apparent to anybody with ears and an IQ north of 4.

Im not sure what you want here... more malaguena, ypg, and appalachian spring? The fact is, for every person that wants a return to the show styles of the early 80s, theres one who loves the layering and complexity of todays shows, and wants the designers to keep pushing. Im not talking about new tools such as ww and electronics, im talking about complexity of theme. There is, and should be, something in drum corps for everyone (or at least every fan of marching music). Even concept / story shows like spin cycle, the zone, and on air feature enough fast marching, crazy drumming, and wailing hornlines to keep anyone with a pulse keyed in. Just mho though....

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Some shows are just better live, and take a couple of viewings to get into. I don't particularly like watching Cadets 05 on DVD, but live it was amazing because the visual effects with the uniform backs and other stuff like that "popped" a lot more in person than it did on DVD. But that's just one example.

Well that sucks, I wish i could have seen it live :(

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what he said.

Ditto.

The DVDs are good because you can usually catch something you missed if you saw the show live. I know I usually have to watch the DVDs 5 or 6 times before I catch everything. So I don't think the shows are getting too complicated. I think they are getting more entertaining.

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Yeah, that's it - blame the fans. You're a real smart one, Jocko.

first of all....jocko?? are you serious? and he was right, __________ <-- here, i'll let you fill in the blanks

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I don't even understand why stuff like this gets argued on DCP.

How the heck can you not understand! Isn't it obvious that...

Sorry, just kiddin :)

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Well, if the fans decide to leave, then you'd be performing to empty stadiums ... but not for long.

Come on. Seriously? "Too difficult to please?"

First of all, it has ALWAYS been that way? You're never going to please all of the people all of the time -- simple as that.

Now, are too many shows created and designed to get the most points on the scoresheets from the judges rather than to get the most applause and reactions from the fans? YES. I'm not going to agree with another topic that suggested the old "concert pieces" be brought back, but those were entertaining and high-quality moments musically ... which have been replaced with more high-quality visual moments, which aren't as generally "entertaining" to the average fans.

I'd like to see more show designed for entertainment purposes as opposed to "we're trying to play the game and get more credit from the judges and get higher scores" purposes.

There needs to be a balance ... instead of one of the old sayings from when I marched (early 1990s) ... "it's art because we say it is."

Two other old sayings I like ... "higher, louder, faster" ... and "Loud is good. But soft is clean. Therefore, clean is bad."

By the same token, "It's entertainment because we say it is."

Entertainment value is entirely subjective, as is any one show from the next. What one may consider entertaining others may very well consider boring. Some of those average fans may find those high-quality visual moments just as entertaining, if not more, as those high-quality musical moments. And, judging from crowd reactions the last few years, I'd say that's a pretty fair assessment.

Appreciate the shows for what they are, not for what they're not.

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