megadrive Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 It is so sad that Finals will be in Indy again, because once again BD will not get the crowd support they deserve. Bring finals back to CA and BD will get many standing O's. Even though I did enjoy BD's show for the encore, you can't necessarily say this. SCV got love and then some for their show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplecrownforever Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 just returned home from finals....here is my review..........general: big crowd 2 exhibitions.....Marines did a fine job presenting a show with variety and solid musicianship Blue Devils B displayed a well-designed show with competence in all sections and show was well-performed Troopers.....standing O welcoming the corps into finals..........they did a solid job tonight and put on an entertaining show.....some things actually seemed a bit more solid....possibly because the pressure was off...........good job Blue Knights.....I thought they did a good job tonight.....show is interesting musically and visually.....first major brass hit is huge.......I thought they were stronger than Glassmen....... Glassmen.........visual/CG and percusssion performance are their strengths. However, for me, the musical arrangements, especially the 2nd half, are a bit lacking. Also, brass intonation issues remained, yet this shows up nowhere in the score........I felt they were overscored.... Blue Stars.......solid programming and a solid brass sound.....show is well-arranged with good variety......perc. seemed a tad cleaner tonight.... a solid show tonight......... Phantom..........yes, the drill isn't the greatest this year.........however, their brass line and percussion section are superb....arrangements, demand, and performance level are top drawer, and their placement in those captions remains a mystery.....9th in musical effect??? are you kidding me? I felt that they should have been 7th................. Boston..............entertaining show, and guard carries theme well........perhaps a few too many abrupt hits............solid in all segments, and arrangements generally work......good job...... Bluecoats..............performed very well..........percussion demand is top shelf..........brass demand not quite that of other contenders....visual program is good.....as I have stated before, perhaps not the best idea to repeat a tune that a competitor won a title with not too long ago..... solid job......... Santa Clara..........the most musical show on the field this year, as arrangement quality and continuity of musical thought, in both brass and percussion, were 2nd to none, but not recognized by the music judges...........visual/guard presented the music in an outstanding manner..... Cavies couldn't hold a candle to this show, but the judges disagree.................... Cavaliers..............great visual/guard show.............however, musical book is below the level of other contenders, and arrangements do not generate the same level of musical communication/emotion as others, and dynamic range also was limited compared to others.....some brass quality issues tonight.........should have been a "distant" 5th..................... Cadets................really sold the show tonight.............visual demand is 2nd to none, but "chairs" apparently have much more demand........... last minute of show is insane and brought the house down.............was performance "perfect" ?? No, but they did not receive credit for the "what" of their program....tremendous demand on the move while playing, and some extremely exposed segments both musically and visually, again, not fully credited...............solid job tonight...... Crown.................tremendous brass performance.....musical demands vastly superior to the Blue Devils.........no weakness in the show, and they sold things very well tonight...........should have won the title edging the Cadets.............. Blue Devils..........well, I guess color guard rules (and they do have a great one), because the numbers in other captions given to this corps this evening were ABSURD..............a perfect 20 in music effect???? Oh, yes, the epitomy of musical communication (yes, much sarcasm intended).........pit is strong, but they carry way too much of the musical product, as does percussion....battery has much demand........but program is choppy and certainly did not merit a 19.8, as yes, they play many notes, but it's not always very musical... I find it unbelievable that a corps can come out, sit on chairs, pose on chairs, stand on chairs, and for a significant amount of time, and that is deemed "state of the art" visual by the judging community.....................brass performance issues tonight, and to have them within .2 of Carolina Crown's brass is truly laughable..........................I can't even comment on that score............... GB Great Job reviewing the finals. Was not able to be there but felt I was because of your review. A Standing O from me to you. On another subject, I did not see the Blue Devils all year but do you feel the Blue Devils have an "edge" because they can practice outside all year, or the judges hear about them more during the course of the year, or just plain past reputation. If you feel their performance scores did not merit winning the DCI championship, what do you feel is the reason they won.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplecrownforever Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Here's the real conspiracy...BD get's paid back for last year... Phantom get's paid back for last year... Has Crown taken over as the new Bridesmaid? Saw the Phantom Regiment at Gianst Stadium and thought they put on a great show. Standing Ovation from the huge crowd. Did feel that the judges were never going to give them "Defending Champion" respect. Huge Carolina Crown fan. Loved the Holy Name Cadets ending to their show which had the crowd going crazy. Did feel that Phantom Regiment did their best even though you just knew they "at best" would get 3rd place from the judges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle B Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 It is so sad that Finals will be in Indy again, because once again BD will not get the crowd support they deserve. Bring finals back to CA and BD will get many standing O's. This is pretty stupid. BD didn't get crowd support because it didn't WOW the crowd like Cadets, Crown, SCV, and Phantom's music. I hardly think Crown's roots are anywhere near Indy, yet they got Standing O's. Tell your corps to play a melody longer then 8 measures and to move around on the football field AND with insane drill while playing loud...then MAYBE they will get something back from the crowd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAMystreaux Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 It is so sad that Finals will be in Indy again, because once again BD will not get the crowd support they deserve. Bring finals back to CA and BD will get many standing O's. That's interesting. SCV, Cadets, Troop, BAC. . .none in Indy or that nearby. The crowd ate them up. How about this for BD. . .write a show that the majority of the crowd can enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunbari1 Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Decades ?? LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOLJay Murphy is a genius and Todd Ryan is a God, simple as that. Sometimes I dont understand certain ideas but the development, presentation, execution and effect of said ideas are second to none...sure Cavies and Cadets can "tear it up" but the Blue Devils present a program that is as sharp as a surgeons knife, and...oh, yes, that other thing that all other corps lack at some time or another, and is a fact ::::: CONSISTENCY !!!!!!!! Pick any year, watch finals night, they never have blatant errors bad lines, bad intervals, muddy transitions or off sets. Simple as that. Geoffrey Yes, DECADES! I was primarily talking about drill DESIGN, not its execution, or overall visual presentation, but that got me to thinking about it, but I'll express them in a dedicated thread. Notice I originally said their DRILL design was subpar IN COMPARISON TO the the top tier of corps. What I meant by subpar was easier, safer, boring and uninspired. While it was nice to finally see some velocity in their drill, which looked nice from down low, the forms themselves when viewed up high (which is where 2/3 of the visual judges are evaluating from) were as safe as could be, 2 arcs sliding in opposite directions, then sliding again in the opposite direction. Is it easy to play clean at those velocities, no it isn't, but other corps are doing it. As for my decades comment, I'll use 1988 as an example (BTW, that was my favorite BD show of all time). BD was undefeated going into championship week. They lost the championship because of their visual program, which was their weak point. Other corps had harder drill which naturally takes longer to clean so when they did finally march it clean (Madison) they got better scores because of the demand factor. BD's drill was clean earlier, because of its lower demand, so they had no room to grow in those captions, thus they got passed. I think the reason a lot of people are disenchanted with BD for the last several years is because they tend to design safe shows. Of course they are going to be clean technically, or at least should be. It's the effect scores that most people disagree with. Even though I was familiar with half of BD's music this year, I found the arrangements to be pretty blah and disappointing. Most people who have shared their thoughts here agree that there was no wow factor in their show. Isn't that part of GE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 (edited) Pick any year, watch finals night, they never have blatant errors bad lines, bad intervals, muddy transitions or off sets. Simple as that. How difficult is it to have bad lines when you're sitting down in a big arc upstage? No offense, but c'mon, this year's visual show included an awful lot of physical movement that may have been something, but wasn't drill that could be judged like what Cadets and Cavaliers were doing. BD did what they did better than anyone - that doesn't mean that the "what they did" part shouldn't be taken into the equation. Edited August 11, 2009 by mobrien Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 (edited) This is pretty stupid. BD didn't get crowd support because it didn't WOW the crowd like Cadets, Crown, SCV, and Phantom's music. I hardly think Crown's roots are anywhere near Indy, yet they got Standing O's. Tell your corps to play a melody longer then 8 measures and to move around on the football field AND with insane drill while playing loud...then MAYBE they will get something back from the crowd. Where is the " crowd caption " on the judging sheet ? Look, the Blue Devils accomplished precisely what they set out to accomplish. Probably more. It is rare when the " crowd ' favorite wins the DCI Title ( 2008 being one of those rare years ) Out of the last 20 years, you can count on one hand where the " Crowd " favorite was also the DCI Champion. You, me, and some others may wish that was different, but don't blame the Blue Devils for understanding the judging captions and knowing what it takes to win a title, and being able to execute that in such a fashion that they ran away with the Title in such convincing fashion. DCI is NOT primarily a musical medium anymore. And it's NOT weighted toward the musical side on the judging sheets. It's weighted toward the VISUAL. I'm guessing the frustration lies in the fact that some fans are simply not aware of how DCI scores shows regarding the musical and the visual. And this explains the frustration. Edited August 11, 2009 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKEK_SOP Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 (edited) Yes, DECADES! I was primarily talking about drill DESIGN, not its execution, or overall visual presentation, but that got me to thinking about it, but I'll express them in a dedicated thread. Notice I originally said their DRILL design was subpar IN COMPARISON TO the the top tier of corps. What I meant by subpar was easier, safer, boring and uninspired. While it was nice to finally see some velocity in their drill, which looked nice from down low, the forms themselves when viewed up high (which is where 2/3 of the visual judges are evaluating from) were as safe as could be, 2 arcs sliding in opposite directions, then sliding again in the opposite direction. Is it easy to play clean at those velocities, no it isn't, but other corps are doing it. As for my decades comment, I'll use 1988 as an example (BTW, that was my favorite BD show of all time). BD was undefeated going into championship week. They lost the championship because of their visual program, which was their weak point. Other corps had harder drill which naturally takes longer to clean so when they did finally march it clean (Madison) they got better scores because of the demand factor. BD's drill was clean earlier, because of its lower demand, so they had no room to grow in those captions, thus they got passed. I think the reason a lot of people are disenchanted with BD for the last several years is because they tend to design safe shows. Of course they are going to be clean technically, or at least should be. It's the effect scores that most people disagree with. Even though I was familiar with half of BD's music this year, I found the arrangements to be pretty blah and disappointing. Most people who have shared their thoughts here agree that there was no wow factor in their show. Isn't that part of GE? Well. you're certainly entitled to your own opinion, just a little odd hearing someone from Bayonne Bridgemen talk about Visual Design. But, then again you are the self proclaimed “"visual guy"” what ever that means? Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Bridgemen, just always felt their strength was the Brass and Percussion. So if, BD's perfect score in Ensemble Visual this year, last year and a perfect visual composition score for the last three years is 'SUB-PAR"? {"for decades"} maybe all corps would do better with what, in the "visual guys"”opinion is....... sub-par design. And please stop using words like "more demanding"{ talk about dating yourself} the current sheets explore the range of challenges presented to the performer aka "the book or visual vocabulary". The intellectual sophistication, variety and freshness of BD's visual design, was unmatched this year, again! Edited August 11, 2009 by SKEK_SOP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 Well. you're certainly entitled to your own opinion, just a little odd hearing someone from Bayonne Bridgemen talk about Visual Design. But, then again you are the self proclaimed “"visual guy"” what ever that means? Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Bridgemen, just always felt their strength was the Brass and Percussion. So if, BD's perfect score in Ensemble Visual this year, last year and a perfect visual composition score for the last three years is 'SUB-PAR"? {"for decades"} maybe all corps would do better with what, in the "visual guys"”opinion is....... sub-par design. And please stop using words like "more demanding"{ talk about dating yourself} the current sheets explore the range of challenges presented to the performer aka "the book or visual vocabulary". The intellectual sophistication, variety and freshness of the BD visual design was unmatched this year, again! Couldn't have said it any better, SKEK_ SOP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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