The OFFICIAL 2010 Blue Devils Thread

[WestCoaster]

<A few years were disappointing fourth place finishes, but only 91 hit the ultimate (for BD anyway) low placement. >

Ironically, 91 featured (imo, of course) the FINEST horn line to ever grace a football field -

Sure, but the drumline was a train wreck.

Took em a few years to recover from losing the Floats.

[byline]

I was there.

I saw ever year of their drum corps existence multiple times except for 85 and 90, and I can tell you that they were NEVER particularly well received. Not a fan favorite, in any case. When they started dominating the negative vibes grew exponentially. They were given a chilly reception in 91, and in 92 lots of people downright despised them.

93 was no different, but they were certainly not being treated any differently (check out the 92 finals vid for the most enthusiastic crowd reaction to a LOSS since 88).

FWIW, they might not have been a fan favorite in 93 but they won their share of shows, including against the Cadets, and including even finals week in fact. And they were also a favorite among the kids and staff of other corps, bigtime.

This is exactly what I remember of Star. Though, again, I think we're talking about two different things here: competitive vitriol and aesthetic appreciation. In '92, audiences were, if not overwhelmingly enthusiastic, at least receptive to the show, itself. But -- fairly or not -- Star was saddled throughout their relatively brief competitive reign with a perception that they had not sufficiently "paid their dues" to get to the top of the heap. I think this was coming to a head in '92, perhaps as a direct result of winning it all in '91. So yes, when Cavaliers won in '92, there was a fair bit of gloating that was outwardly expressed. But I don't think that meant the audience didn't like Star's show that year. I think most people liked the show, but were irrationally annoyed -- again, I'm not saying this is fair or even accurate -- by what they perceived as Star's "silver platter" success.

In '93, the show seemed deliberately designed to elicit an angry response (perhaps as retribution for having a fan-friendly show the previous year that, for whatever reason, didn't win over the fans). But that was a process of choosing music not accessible to the general audience, and then designing the show in such a way that didn't allow the usual opportunities for audience reaction. And that's when the anger really bubbled to the surface. It was like Star was giving the audience an excuse to vent . . . and vent they did. (I was the odd one out at the time, thinking this was the first Star show that I'd actually liked.) But it was that same design process that enables people now to see how brilliant it was.

I think the difference between Star '93 and BD in the last several years -- which seems to be a correlation folks are trying to make between the two corps -- is that BD is taking accessible music and arranging it in such a way that it sounds somewhat inaccessible to the general audience. Star took inaccessible music and arranged it accordingly, so that the visual design perfectly mirrored the music being played. In BD's case, I feel like the visual design is driving the musical editing (or, as another poster so aptly put it, creating a soundtrack for the visual program). And, of course, that's always been a function of drum corps. Music has to be edited to fit the constraints of drill. But, as much as I admire the overall package, BD takes it to an extreme that I'm not entirely comfortable with.

Edited July 3, 2010 by byline

[saxfreq1128]

This is exactly what I remember of Star. Though, again, I think we're talking about two different things here: competitive vitriol and aesthetic appreciation. In '92, audiences were, if not overwhelmingly enthusiastic, at least receptive to the show, itself. But -- fairly or not -- Star was saddled throughout their relatively brief competitive reign with a perception that they had not sufficiently "paid their dues" to get to the top of the heap. I think this was coming to a head in '92, perhaps as a direct result of winning it all in '91. So yes, when Cadets won in '92, there was a fair bit of gloating that was outwardly expressed. But I don't think that meant the audience didn't like Star's show that year. I think most people liked the show, but were irrationally annoyed -- again, I'm not saying this is fair or even accurate -- by what they perceived as Star's "silver platter" success.

In '93, the show seemed deliberately designed to elicit an angry response (perhaps as retribution for having a fan-friendly show the previous year that, for whatever reason, didn't win over the fans). But that was a process of choosing music not accessible to the general audience, and then designing the show in such a way that didn't allow the usual opportunities for audience reaction. And that's when the anger really bubbled to the surface. It was like Star was giving the audience an excuse to vent . . . and vent they did. (I was the odd one out at the time, thinking this was the first Star show that I'd actually liked.) But it was that same design process that enables people now to see how brilliant it was.

I definitely agree: I'm not sure the comparison between reactions to BD of the last few years versus those to Star 93 are totally apt, largely because of what you helpfully indicate to be some circumstances that definitely complicate reactions to these shows.

And, sure, BD '10 and Star '93 are both dissonant shows, but jazz dissonance strikes me as a different animal from classical dissonance, especially on the drum corps field. 'City of Glass' is sort of in its own league, as far as big band jazz experimentation goes. It's a tough sell -- maybe even more so than the work of Bartok, which BECAUSE of Star 93, seems to have recurred quite a bit since then (as SCV this year indicates).

I think the difference between Star '93 and BD in the last several years -- which seems to be a correlation folks are trying to make between the two corps -- is that BD is taking accessible music and arranging it in such a way that it sounds somewhat inaccessible to the general audience. Star took inaccessible music and arranged it accordingly, so that the visual design perfectly mirrored the music being played. In BD's case, I feel like the visual design is driving the musical editing (or, as another poster so aptly put it, creating a soundtrack for the visual program). And, of course, that's always been a function of drum corps. Music has to be edited to fit the constraints of drill. But, as much as I admire the overall package, BD takes it to an extreme that I'm not entirely comfortable with.

I'm not sure... I wouldn't call Piano Variations, Prelude/Fugue/Riffs, City of Glass, etc. 'accessible,' and I wouldn't say that their recent treatments of more familiar songs (Happy Days are Here Again, Blue Rondo, the Godfather music, etc) are 'inaccessible' -- mostly because I'm not totally sure what people intend these terms to mean.

I guess I'm wary of encouraging many peoples' fetish for this thing we're calling accessibility -- as if it's this fixed, easily-defined, universal thing that we can all agree on. I don't think I fully understand why accessibility hinges on a sense of 'melody,' and why 'melody' seems to mean, for some, a certain degree of catchiness and memorability, with anything outside of that being boring, dissonant, etc. That feels very limiting, to me.

I guess it all comes down to what we go to drum corps shows for, and to what entertains us. Personally, I'm not very wedded to the idea of straightforwardly melodic musical/visual entertainment; seems to me to be just one great option among many.

Edited July 1, 2010 by saxfreq1128

[Calif-Jake]

OK I'm jumping in. BD has an incredible show as they often do but, for the untrained ear, I just can't get into it. It's all over the place and hurts my ears. Now don't misunderstand, I love Jazz but not the way they are playing it. I recognize talent when I see it and they have plenty but for myself, I see talent each time a Corp takes the field. Yes some have more then others but ultimately it's how a show entertains me more than the actual technique. Again untrained but I know what I like. I think this years winner should be a combination of talent and appeal and I don't think BD has the mass appeal with this show. Maybe the trained eyes and ears will feel differently, maybe? As for me I'm first rooting for Phantom, and yes I'm biased, as my daughter is marching her first season with PR. Second I',m rooting for anyone other than BD as I believe it will be good for the industry, DCI, to have someone else win. I mean how boring to always have the same Corp win and, I would think a little disheartening for all the thousands of kids who pour their hearts and souls into their respective Corps and the show they perform.

OK I'm done ranting!!!

[Todd Tanji]

Putting on my Captain Obvious hat ...

People have different taste.

Personally, I love the unconventional. It keeps me engaged. I also

enjoy the conventional if done well, but I do not love it and do not

pay to see it more than once.

But I realize that others do not feel that way, and respect that.

So, the most important thing is that we have variety, a health mix of

both and everything in between. And it looks like this year we have that.

Keeping my Captain Obvious hat on ...

A panel of judges does not necessarily chose the same winner as the

fans. If we want the winner to be the most "popular" (whatever the hell

THAT means) we need a different system.

And finally, the Blue Devils are NOT hurting for popularity from my vantage point.

[Calif-Jake]

Putting on my Captain Obvious hat ...

People have different taste.

Personally, I love the unconventional. It keeps me engaged. I also

enjoy the conventional if done well, but I do not love it and do not

pay to see it more than once.

But I realize that others do not feel that way, and respect that.

So, the most important thing is that we have variety, a health mix of

both and everything in between. And it looks like this year we have that.

Keeping my Captain Obvious hat on ...

A panel of judges does not necessarily chose the same winner as the

fans. If we want the winner to be the most "popular" (whatever the hell

THAT means) we need a different system.

And finally, the Blue Devils are NOT hurting for popularity from my vantage point.

[GMichael1230]

OK I'm jumping in. BD has an incredible show as they often do but, for the untrained ear, I just can't get into it. It's all over the place and hurts my ears. Now don't misunderstand, I love Jazz but not the way they are playing it. I recognize talent when I see it and they have plenty but for myself, I see talent each time a Corp takes the field. Yes some have more then others but ultimately it's how a show entertains me more than the actual technique. Again untrained but I know what I like. I think this years winner should be a combination of talent and appeal and I don't think BD has the mass appeal with this show. Maybe the trained eyes and ears will feel differently, maybe? As for me I'm first rooting for Phantom, and yes I'm biased, as my daughter is marching her first season with PR. Second I',m rooting for anyone other than BD as I believe it will be good for the industry, DCI, to have someone else win. I mean how boring to always have the same Corp win and, I would think a little disheartening for all the thousands of kids who pour their hearts and souls into their respective Corps and the show they perform.

OK I'm done ranting!!!

How terrible for the industry if they let "someone" else win even if they arent the best.....The best corps should win, whoever it is, as long as they are the best, like them or not.

G

[Calif-Jake]

I don't recall saying they were hurting for popularity, quite the contrary. In my "opinion", this show will not have the mass appeal musically. Again the trained ears may feel differently. As for the visual performance, in my opinion, they once again have knocked it out of the park. And I'm not saying that the winner should be the Most Popular, but that talent and appeal should be taken into consideration. Yes it probably is as I don't fully understand the scoring system. Thought I'd beat u to the punch, so to speak.

[Todd Tanji]

I don't recall saying they were hurting for popularity, quite the contrary. In my "opinion", this show will not have the mass appeal musically. Again the trained ears may feel differently. As for the visual performance, in my opinion, they once again have knocked it out of the park. And I'm not saying that the winner should be the Most Popular, but that talent and appeal should be taken into consideration. Yes it probably is as I don't fully understand the scoring system. Thought I'd beat u to the punch, so to speak.

My comments weren't directed at you. I just happened to post after you.

[Michael Boo]

I watched the show on Fan Network just this morning and I'm still picking parts of my jaw off the floor. I haven't been this enamored of a Blue Devils show since "My Spanish Heart" in 1994. I don't know how they manage to play and move the way they do. Yes, the music is often on the edge. I love it! The drill looks different than anything I've seen from them for years. I can't wait until I can see them live in Minneapolis. One big "wow" from me.