Hrothgar15 Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Hey original poster...go see Crown and Blue Stars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Design Hound Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Hey original poster...go see Crown and Blue Stars... He was only talking about the top 6 or 7, so clearly doesn't want to watch any of the other corps to see what they're doin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXMelloSkiesXx Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I personally thought 07 was a fine year for drum corps. The talent from the top 7 was incredible, and any of these shows could have been contenders for the title any other year...if any I saw 06 as a decline in the activity... but this year, I am not as impressed. I have a seen a majority of the corps so far and Im often left with a stale taste in my mouth. There is no doubt that the corps these days are more talented then ever before...the entertainment however is just not there... its still early in the 2008 season...so we'll see. I'd reserve your judgement until later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 just to reiterate, I'm NOT talking about talent or quality of the corps themselves, just show design in general. Thank you for the comments though... Yeah, it's all about individual taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tez Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 (edited) I absolutely disagree with most of the OP's statements. I love the creative arrangements being played. I thought 2007 was the best year for drum corps yet. I think the Cavaliers show is one of their more sophisticated ever. I wouldn't mind hearing more arcane/abstract music, as long as there is variety. Medleys are fine and in the case of Bluecoats this year, it very much works thematically. The show is not about the piece "On the Waterfront" or "Rocky"... It is about a boxing story, so they can mix the music how they choose. There is definitely more melody this year than in a long time. If you don't like the length of the drum breaks now, what about the drum features in the 70s that were like whole tunes? Edited June 30, 2008 by Tez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_S Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 just to reiterate, I'm NOT talking about talent or quality of the corps themselves, just show design in general. Thank you for the comments though... In that case, all that's left to say in this thread is whether we agree or disagree with you. Your complaint, as stated above, is based purely on your own personal tastes, and no one is ever going to persuade you to change that. And personal taste can vary quite a bit from person to person. xXMelloSkiesXx above me stated that they thought 07 was a great year, and 06 was a disappointment. Myself, I found a bevy of shows from 06 that I enjoyed, while I only enjoyed a handful last year in 07. I haven't heard any of the shows from this year yet, though when the Madison APD's come out that will change. Of course, if APD's have taught me anything over the years, it's that the shows I like early on aren't always the same shows I like by the end of the season. It's still early enough in the 08 season that there's plenty of time for corps staffs to further refine their shows. Who knows, you may end up enjoying a good number of 08 shows by the time all is said and done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big old drummer man Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 If you don't like the length of the drum breaks now, what about the drum features in the 70s that were like whole tunes? exactly. the drum breaks these days are musically integrated much better into the show and, when done well, can add great a bit to the overall design and concept of the show, rather than just being a full tune in the middle of the show to give the hornline a break and show off the drumline. i do agree with the OP about voice amplification. get that crap outta here. the music should be able to speak for itself. some do it well (coats 07), but in most cases it distracts too much from the music (cadets 07). i am, however, a proponent of the amplification of the pit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygwm Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Is it just me or has the quality of DCI declined significantly in the past two years? To me it doesn't seem to be the level of talent among the members of the corps that is lacking, but in the the designs of the shows themselves. I can't speak to 2008 because I don't see my first show until next weekend. But I believe it's all part of (to use the Cadets' old phrase) a Relentless Pursuit of the Edge. Most corps are using technology to their fullest advantage. In a few cases, it makes for a more enjoyable show but in many cases, it's a crutch hiding poor design. If it's any solace, I'm old enough to recall similar discussions on RAMD c. 1993 when Star put on what was considered to be a monstrosity of a performance. Of course, that's regularly considered among the fan favorites today and the activity has survived a further 15 years. Not that I expect to see BD's Yowza show or Cadets '06-'08 in any fan retrospectives, but I'm just sayin'... The whole amp thing is under 5 years old, if memory serves. The judging community still doesn't know who should handle it and how (which is to say DCI hasn't instructed them to do anything significant.) That's the first issue and if there were negative ramifications for corps that overused the technology, you'd see less of it. Just don't expect to see amps repealed; that's as likely as a return to G bugles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 (edited) just to reiterate, I'm NOT talking about talent or quality of the corps themselves, just show design in general. Thank you for the comments though... I understand where you are coming from. I think the shows are simply different. The scoring captions reward demand, and visual, more so than brass and percussion. The Guards are larger than percussion sections these days and are integral in the overall placement and scoring scheme of things. It's been said that in sports, defense wins championships. And in DCI, It's Visual ( more so than music ) that wins championships. Thus Corps who want to win are trying to come up with clever visual schemes in order to win. And what gets the most visual credit ?..... any visual pattern done FAST..... FASTER...... FASTEST. DCI has moved from marching to quick and fast visual movements ( ala perfected by Cavs )by performers to...... RUNNING. Corps that can run fast into visual pattern position is what will be rewarded the most over the next few years in my opinion. Playing music when one is running or getting ready to unleash a sprint into the next formation is going to be too hard in my opinion. And the visual PATTERN is what is mostly rewarded over fundamental execution or proper marching techniques. Corps with mediocre marching, ie poor positioning of equipment, hands, head, distance between marchers, file, rank coverage, drifting while marching., so much dirty feet, and so forth, all are being witnessed more and more these days,, even by the top Corps. But it's overlooked when the visual demand and the visual pattern is considered creative, and thus given more weight than uniformity and correct marching techniques. Maybe things will come full circle once we go through my predicted DCI period of Corps Sprinting and Corps full out running over the next few years. Maybe the music will return. Time will tell. But I knew things had changed awhile back when we began to see Corps show designers writing the Visual programs first, then and only then, putting the music to that visual. And winning it all with that approach to show design. Prior to that, music was always programmed first, and the visual design put together to complement that music and done only after the music was set in place. Edited June 30, 2008 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmathis Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 In my opinion, 2005 was the worst year for drum corps by FAR. Anyway, I like a lot of the shows this year, especially from some of the lower corps like the Boston Crusaders and Blue Stars. SCV and Crown have my favorite shows this year. I don't really like the Cavaliers's show all that much.... I was so excited to finally see it last night because of all the secrecy, but I was kind of disappointed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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