barigirl78 Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I wonder how many people were laughing during this production? For me it was a strange combination of laughter and lowering my head into my hands. Maybe they will surprise us and announce it's SUPPOSED to be funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanksregular Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Funny. As I sat there watching, my stomach kind of started to hurt. Like, if you had ice cream for every meal. Hey, ice cream is great, but, I can't eat it morning, noon and night. Crown was like - eating chocolate sundaes all day long. I couldn't take it any more. It was like 20 great endings to 20 masterpieces - I can't keep one 11.5 minute emotional high anymore I guess. (no Viagra jokes needed here) Thank you, someone agrees with me. But god forbid people hear something they haven't heard before, so up Crown goes on the pedestal and then comes 70,000 threads about why the Cadets are destroying the planet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 NO...In 2005 there was very much a split decision early on about the show... some liked, some hated, some loved. And I think most of the people who hated it was just because the fact there was amplified voice. This years show is basically getting like 0.5% positive reviews. How many people have you talked to who likes this show? Agree. I've liked LOTS of Cadets shows over the years., including Dreamscapes but this year's show ?..... the musical chords played, while played well, just clashed and gave my ears a totally unpleasant sound. If this show was on Broadway, the Lenders would yank the show, the doors would be shut, designers and producers fired, performers sent home, it's that poorly conceived. ( my opinion ) But the kids paid for the opportunity, so it's THEIR Summer, they're working hard, making friends, and Pursuing their Happiness if you will, etc, and that's what really matters to that Corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 OK, I was AT the show last night. Here are my impressions:Cadets narration: Based on the early season posts here, I expected more narration than last year. It seemed to me to be pretty much the same as last year though. I don't know if I was tuning it out or what, but it actually seemed less distracting to the music than last year, i.e. most (or all?) of the talking was when they weren't playing. Thank you for your "you had to be there" observations. I only heard the show on DCI Fan Network, and my impressions are very much different from yours on this one point. The narration was way over the top the of the music, almost relegating the other 148 performers to background fill. I would be interested to hear your take after you have heard the re-broadcast of the show, to compare the two viewing experiences. Blue Stars - Wow. Back in the top 12 for the first time since '79? Do we dare to dream or is it way too early? I say go ahead and dream. At least on TV, this was a top 12 drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygwm Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 (edited) This corp can play! I still don't understand why they feel the need to speak over all of these amazing players. They are really good but I don't think the show allows you to fully see their talent. I won't see the field performance until next weekend but I saw the Memorial Day Weekend standstill and was disappointed at what they were trying to do conceptually. When the corps first ran through the show, without narration, I though they had a great show. Then Hop asked whether our perception of the music would differ if we had known that the piece was commemorating Columbine...at that point they played the piece again and basically narrated over the entire thing. I expected that it would not. Music is music and it should be the composer's job to get his/her point across. I was wrong, however. The narration indeed changed my perception; I went from loving to hating the show. Admittedly, I was one of those who has been slow to embrace narration. But I have come to realize that there's a place for it...IF it is done in moderation and IF it supports the show. Bluecoats and Crown did this exceptionally well last year. Even Cadets did a good job of it in '05. My problem with what this show represents is that it represents a corps' music supporting the narrative as opposed to narration supporting the horns/drums. I felt the same way about Cadets '06 and '07 shows, too. After I see this show, I might argue that the horns, drums and guard are performing in a manner superior to the competition, but it will be tough to tell without trying to peel away the distractions that are designed into the performance. For that reason alone, I hope that they don't score well competitively this season. Edited June 29, 2008 by Phillygwm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Funny. As I sat there watching, my stomach kind of started to hurt. Like, if you had ice cream for every meal. Hey, ice cream is great, but, I can't eat it morning, noon and night. Crown was like - eating chocolate sundaes all day long. I couldn't take it any more. It was like 20 great endings to 20 masterpieces - I can't keep one 11.5 minute emotional high anymore I guess. (no Viagra jokes needed here) "If you find yourself watching drum corps and you have an emotional high that lasts more than four hours, call your doctor." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanksregular Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 (edited) I expected that it would not. Music is music and it should be the composer's job to get his/her point across. I was wrong, however. The narration indeed changed my perception; I went from loving to hating the show. Composers use speech/narration/singers to portray things all the time in music... Stravinsky did it... Copland did it.. Prokofiev did it.. Barber did it... Everyone has done it. I don't see the problem. BTW: That Viagra joke.......not good Edited June 29, 2008 by spanksregular Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCranford82 Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 I'm not missing anything at all, thanks though.All I was saying is that it is early and I wouldn't completely write off this show just yet. It could wind up like a 2005 or 2007. On the other hand it might end up like a 2006. But people are acting like it isn't a common occurrence in the last 3 years for a Cadets show to be extremely unpopular at the beginning of the season but grow on the fans by the end of the year. The one thing you may be missing is that the subject of breast cancer doesn't exactly lend itself to fans leaping to their feet, I don't think it matters how many times someone tells you about it, never mind at a Drum Corps show. Maybe you're right on and they change things by the end, honestly for their sake I hope they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygwm Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Composers use speech/narration/singers to portray things all the time in music...Stravinsky did it... Copland did it.. Prokofiev did it.. Barber did it... Everyone has done it. I don't see the problem. Of course, but 1) this composer didn't frame his piece within a "This American Life" narrative and 2) just because Copland wrote A Lincoln Portrait etc. doesn't mean it's a particularly appropriate piece for a drum corps to play. I always thought that people attend drum corps shows to see/hear "the kids" perform. That seems to be an afterthought of this show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Composers use speech/narration/singers to portray things all the time in music...Stravinsky did it... Copland did it.. Prokofiev did it.. Barber did it... Everyone has done it. I don't see the problem. BTW: That Viagra joke.......not good Barber used "speech/ narration/singers, etc " to portray things ( to an audience) Yes he did. And so didn't Barnum. It's all in how you do it, and how you perceive your audience, and whether or not you connect with most of them at some level that enriches them in some way from witnessing your performance. The Cadets show may score very well because it has solid talent, but for most in the audience around the country it is a clunker and a dud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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