Show concepts

[byline]

I still don't understand what the gripe is. Name one other moment in DCI history that was clearly more of an "acrobatic feat of wonder" for the horns than the jumping over members in Samurai? How is that "just okay"?

Wow, exactly! Cirque performers have specific talents for which they audition, then train day in and day out to achieve these amazing acrobatic feats. It's not like musicians routinely train that way. I thought what Cavaliers did was pretty darned incredible!

[IanKShields]

Or, perhaps audiences are getting dumber about music in general, while the musical groups are continuing to develop?

Nahh... how could THAT happen?! Here, in the USA? Nahhh...impossible...

[IanKShields]

And how do pieces from some of the most popular shows of the past 10 years fit into this?

Symphony #2 by Barber

The Canyon by Philip Glass

Dance of Ecstasy from Danses Fantastiques by Tjeknavorkian

Soundtrack from Dreamer

Soundings by Cindy McTee

Piano Concerto #1 by Ginastera

Anything by Richard Saucedo

Those wouldn't be on a typical marching music geek's iPod, to say nothing of your average Joe Schmoe, before they were done by corps.

For every piece you've heard 100 times before that's popular on the field, there another that is not recognizable by many people that works just as well.

Simply put, it has nothing to do with whether or not you recognize a piece of music on the field, it has everything to do with if you find it good. Like with any of the music you listed, there was a point where nobody recognized any of them, but they became popular because they were simply good.

Bingo. Thank you for being one of the rare ones who doesn't equate "familiarity" with quality.

Personally, I'm a lot less worried about the creative direction of people who are trained to create, than I am about attention-deficit audiences who have no sense of anything at all, and are just allowing themselves to get dumber and more complacent and less receptive to curiousity.

To me, that's the biggest threat to every art form right now, and sadly inevitable, now that we've chased the entire right-side of the brain out of this country's educational system.

[j.morgus]

Ahh, but you still want to sell them tickets. Hmm...

[Abbevillekid26]

For example, why don't the Cadets reuse that "playing each others' horns" set piece in every show now?

swine flu

[swmstom]

Some have noted "WOW" moments in the 09 season and I saw those said moments and thought they were cool. But there's a difference between sitting and watching a show and saying to the guy next to me, "Hey, that was pretty cool" as opposed to being ripped up out of my seat and nearly forced to scream and yell at something I'm watching.

For those that mentioned various "Wow" moments this year, please explain to me then why there was very little crowd reaction to them?

Are the crowds stupid? I mean, do the majority of PAYING fans, at least those I saw in the Dome, just have no clue what's good and what's not, and therefore don't know how to react? And if that's the case, what's wrong with throwing the PAYING crowd a bone now and then even if you're hell bent on playing a show enjoyed mostly by the music doctorate crowd and judging community?

Are the corps members not performing said "WOW" moments to their potential? Watch out now before you answer because you will be hammered by those that feel you can't say a bad word about a corps because you're degrading those marching members.

Again, there's a difference between cool moments that fans see in shows every year and the moments where crowds blow out speakers.

Look folks, I admit I'm old school, but I'm not THAT old school. I marched in the 90s and have followed drum corps through much of the 2000s. And I can't think of a single year of all the years I've watched or marched where there wasn't at least one corps that found a way to pull an entire stadium up out of their seats before the final note was played.

On a side note, someone mentioned SCV's final move of marching through the back sideline and off the field as a "WOW" moment. That would be the exact opposite of a "WOW" moment to me. Don't get me wrong, a show that ends like that is very pretty, poetic , artistic, or whatever you want to call it. But seriously, when was the last time a corps ended a show quietely and drew a monster crowd reaction? About the only I can think of was SCV 89 and that was because the corps and drum major "disappeared".

[JimF-LowBari]

For those that mentioned various "Wow" moments this year, please explain to me then why there was very little crowd reaction to them?

Well there are a lot of threads that describe DC as "art". You don't hear crowds going nutsy cuckoo at art or fashion shows or symphony concerts do you. Just get the feeling some people think if they get too loud with their reaction it's seen as disrespectful. Yeah, give me the days of the "great unwashed" crowd of people who didn't know squat about playing music and came for the pure entertainment and not for the complexity. (May find a better way to put this later.)

[Mello Dude]

Or, perhaps audiences are getting dumber about music in general, while the musical groups are continuing to develop?

Nahh... how could THAT happen?! Here, in the USA? Nahhh...impossible...

LOL. I think we have another American plus here folks. Californian possibly? Another everyone else is stupid moment...am I on a political forum?

Another theory is that musical writing has taken a back seat to visual so that complete musical expressions and thoughts are never conveyed in a meaningful and thoughtful way. Most successful music can have a few bars hummed or sung 5 minutes after its been played.

[corpsreps]

Some have noted "WOW" moments in the 09 season and I saw those said moments and thought they were cool. But there's a difference between sitting and watching a show and saying to the guy next to me, "Hey, that was pretty cool" as opposed to being ripped up out of my seat and nearly forced to scream and yell at something I'm watching.

For those that mentioned various "Wow" moments this year, please explain to me then why there was very little crowd reaction to them?

Are the crowds stupid? I mean, do the majority of PAYING fans, at least those I saw in the Dome, just have no clue what's good and what's not, and therefore don't know how to react? And if that's the case, what's wrong with throwing the PAYING crowd a bone now and then even if you're hell bent on playing a show enjoyed mostly by the music doctorate crowd and judging community?

Are the corps members not performing said "WOW" moments to their potential? Watch out now before you answer because you will be hammered by those that feel you can't say a bad word about a corps because you're degrading those marching members.

Again, there's a difference between cool moments that fans see in shows every year and the moments where crowds blow out speakers.

Look folks, I admit I'm old school, but I'm not THAT old school. I marched in the 90s and have followed drum corps through much of the 2000s. And I can't think of a single year of all the years I've watched or marched where there wasn't at least one corps that found a way to pull an entire stadium up out of their seats before the final note was played.

On a side note, someone mentioned SCV's final move of marching through the back sideline and off the field as a "WOW" moment. That would be the exact opposite of a "WOW" moment to me. Don't get me wrong, a show that ends like that is very pretty, poetic , artistic, or whatever you want to call it. But seriously, when was the last time a corps ended a show quietely and drew a monster crowd reaction? About the only I can think of was SCV 89 and that was because the corps and drum major "disappeared".

Well, first off I disagree with your characterization of the audience reactions to the WOW moments already mentioned. I've been to 16 shows this summer, all over the country. I've yet to see a crowd not get pulled out of their seat by the SCV company front before the quiet ending or several spots in Crown, HNC and BAC.

Not sure where you were sitting in Atlanta but from my view in the press box, I could see all of the 100/200 levels. That crowd reacted strongly and positively to many of the corps. There are a lot of great shows this year and the crowds all over the country are responding. I think the Atlanta show might be a little weird because it is such a long show and the crowd might be a big exhausted by the time the top 5 are on. Maybe that affected what you experienced around you.

I also disagree with what seems to be your premise that drum corps is only great when the corps gets a standing ovation during the show - at least that seems like what you are implying. There are all sorts of ways to be moved emotionally. If you are going to a drum corps show looking for only one way, you probably will be disappointed. I don't necessarily jump up and scream when Academy's guard girl reaches her ascent but I am moved emotionally when it happens.

I find it interesting on DCP how the audience generally reacts similarly to the poster's view. It is rare if ever that someone says "when that show ended I was on my feet screaming and then realized everyone around me was clapping politely" or "at the conclusion of that show everyone was on their feet and I was confused by how they could possibly have liked that show so much."

Maybe my excitement about so many corps this year maybe influences what I see. But often I am in a position where I have a different view of the crowd - pressbox in Atlanta, track in Jackson, first row in Houston - places where I am not in the middle of the crowd and can see much of the stadium. From that vantage point I generally see a crowd that enjoys what they saw and heard. My conversations with many fans this summer confirms that sense.

[The Oz]

LOL. I think we have another American plus here folks. Californian possibly? Another everyone else is stupid moment...am I on a political forum?

Another theory is that musical writing has taken a back seat to visual so that complete musical expressions and thoughts are never conveyed in a meaningful and thoughtful way. Most successful music can have a few bars hummed or sung 5 minutes after its been played.

I heard nearly the same thought from a respected arranger a few years ago and immediatly had one of those "light bulb going on in my head" moments.