Have You Seen the Blue Devils in Person or Not?

[BariBone]

You need to see this show live. I saw it on FN and hated it . I saw it live and was blown away. The Blue Devils are the only corps so far that come out and OWN the field. They make everything look easy when in fact they have the hardest show out there. The colorguard is in another league. They play with such confidence and bravado and have such a mature sounding hornline. It's funny how a season takes shape. Everyone was touting Carolina as the heir apparent to the BD throne. Now the talk is how much of spread will BD win DCI. IMO Only the Cavaliers have a shot. BD is going to have back to back 99 seasons.

[littlebirdy]

Show me one person who believes that "everyone dislikes the show".

It was on one of (probably Many aha) the show topics. I'd have to dig to find, so I'll get back to ya, but they were saying outright that the overwhelming majority of the audience disliked BD's show. Like I said, I'll dig and get back to you. Right after the statement was said, BD supporters got on the thread and the whole thing turned into a BD honk/hate fest.

[littlebirdy]

@audiodb

So for anyone reading this that didn't read his original post, he was asking for an example of a dcp member saying that the overwhelming majority of fans dislike BD's show. (Something I was happy this poll proved wrong).

From the Houston Thread (where it was apparent that most people were doing their best to prevent flaming, so it looks like I might have to go farther back than a week lol):

I'm gonna be honest....that show isn't going to entertain anyone who's not a hardcore bd fan or really into modern jazz....thats all.

Definitely implies that the majority of the audience will dislike it.

If enough people all feel that BD's show is lacking something......be it...excitement.....melodic shape......a complete phrase.....whatever.. There must be some truth to it.

I mean THAT many people can't possibly be all getting it wrong.

There is a lot to come from good ol' DCImonkey, but this post implies that its the majority of people disliking BD's show.

I will count for you next time I'm watching FN.....I'll make a tally of the negative posts. BD hands down has the most negative reactions. Name one corps that is getting a greater negative reaction this year? JUST ONE!

Judges are too busy judging with the wrong side of their brain........ It's the other side of the brain that the fans enjoy and BD isn't it.

GREAT SHOWS ARE GREAT SHOWS!!! Phantom Regiment was awesome in 2008! ...and when I popped in the DVD it was awesome again! If the show doesn't quite do it for you on the video, then perhaps it really wasn't that great to start off with. Sure there will be some dropoff in sound quality but for the most part....notes will be the same. rhythms will be the same. General idea will come across.

This one is just saying that great shows are equally great on a video. Something the poll says otherwise.

look... I saw the people down front and how they responded. I 'll grant you that it's possible that some fans around the 20 yard line MIGHT have responded differently and were standing and cheering. But if the were, it didn't come through in any audio way.

I wasn't looking at the people that left. I was watching the people that stayed around for the encore ( or perhaps the scores ) down along the 50 yard line, in the good seats.

It was a golf clap that I saw and heard. If you saw and heard the fans there in Houston throwing babies in sheer joy and excitement for the Blue Devils with their performance and encore, then that's fine too.

Can't confirm or deny this one. This about the people in the seats, something the majority of DCP was not. This basically just implies that the audience is not grooving on the show. And that may be true, but we can't measure that with this poll.

That's just a very recent topic. People kept talking about trying not to be a hater and always prefacing their comments. It was obvious people were avoiding making general statements that could be taken the wrong way. If you want me to go farther back to when the hate was even more crazy, I could. The Denver topic probably has some good stuff.

[Lightness]

I saw the Blue Devils in Walnut and Riverside, CA, early in the season. The mirrors didn't do much for me really and it seemed to squash them into a smaller space on the field. It was LOUD and LOUDER and I just found myself not really digging the show.

[saxfreq1128]

Definitely a stretch there. I totally understand where people are coming from with their frustrations with "choppy" arrangements. Personally, I like it. But, to say that being annoyed would be the "right direction" just seems like you're making excuses for BD.

I agree. I don't think we're supposed to be annoyed, but I think I see what Plan9 is getting at. In those final minutes, especially during the huge dissonant section, I think we're supposed to be overwhelmed, in a confused but not wholly uncomfortable way. I think we're supposed to be lost in the sound. It's a (glass) wall of sound (h/t Phil Spector), and it's breaking. Between the pit and the brassline, what I hear is a lot of glass cracking apart, systematic structural collapse, a city of glass falling to pieces. This is more or less how I feel when listening to the source music, too.

Hard to pull off on a football field, and it doesn't seem like they're there, yet. If this were a concert hall, and the scope of the sound were condensed to a stage, I think their jobs would be easier; I think the intent to completely overwhelm would be clearer. Maybe this would come across more easily during the performance if the arc of mirrors weren't fully formed until the music is resolved. Maybe the mirrors need to be in disarray, like the drill. The scattering of chairs all over the field during Piano Variations comes to mind. Actually, that would be kind of neat.

I don't think a drum corps hornline has made me think this much about their sound since Cavs 02. The music GE judge that year said the sounds were making him see colors. I can dig that.

Edited July 27, 2010 by saxfreq1128

[hrnguy500]

I strongly dislike it. I cannot get into the music and I'm not a fan of the mirrors. The show looks cluttered to me, which is what a lot of props do for me.

[blue4ever]

This year's BD show is a show you HAVE to see In PERSON to begin to understand it fully, not just on fannetwork. When I first saw it in rehearsals without mirrors/costumes, etc., I didn't understand the music, parents were shaking their heads on the sideline since there weren't "hummable" tunes, I didn't like it. I came home and told my family that BD had a "stinker" show this year. But, after seeing it repeatedly LIVE, I'm deeply in love with it now. It's like great literature - you have to peel away the layers of its complexity to start to grasp its genius. The other corps look like they're marching the same old stuff (very well, though!) from past years, then BD gives you a glimpse of the future of show design. And watch it from fairly CLOSE UP in person. You see those fantastic multiplying effects of the silver mirrors, the silver uniform sequins flashing in your eyes, the silver sidecapes and silver drums reflecting light. You see the effects of corps members in front of and behind mirrors creating the effect that the "images" are marching right out of the mirrors. BD's trying to achieve effects like "broken glass" falling on the field, the discordant music makes the audience "uncomfortable", powerful tensions in the music and show design wash over the audience and don't get resolved until that final chord repeats 7 times at the end. The guard is wearing the most disruptive of costume colors. If you sit high, you don't see the amazing mirror effects, you see the tops of plumes behind mirrors, etc. SIT CLOSER!

And no one has gotten the "genius" of the DUAL PURPOSE of the mirrors. If anyone went to Indpls. Finals last year, you know the sound there is HORRIBLE. Corps in January were encouraged to find creative ways to "deal with it". I thought, yeah, that's an impossible task. But BD has built a BANDSHELL that really does bounce sound to the audience. They sometimes face the mirrors from a foot away while playing.

[ccollins792]

I saw it live in San Antonio and I agree that it must be seen live.

I was completely entertained and I thought it was much better then anything else I've seen live. Having said that, I have not seen Cavies or Cadets but nonetheless I thought it was great.

[Lance]

And no one has gotten the "genius" of the DUAL PURPOSE of the mirrors. If anyone went to Indpls. Finals last year, you know the sound there is HORRIBLE. Corps in January were encouraged to find creative ways to "deal with it". I thought, yeah, that's an impossible task. But BD has built a BANDSHELL that really does bounce sound to the audience. They sometimes face the mirrors from a foot away while playing.

Yeah, I thought about that, but wasn't sure if it was on purpose.

If so, pretty smart of them.

[megadrive]

This year's BD show is a show you HAVE to see In PERSON to begin to understand it fully, not just on fannetwork. When I first saw it in rehearsals without mirrors/costumes, etc., I didn't understand the music, parents were shaking their heads on the sideline since there weren't "hummable" tunes, I didn't like it. I came home and told my family that BD had a "stinker" show this year. But, after seeing it repeatedly LIVE, I'm deeply in love with it now. It's like great literature - you have to peel away the layers of its complexity to start to grasp its genius. The other corps look like they're marching the same old stuff (very well, though!) from past years, then BD gives you a glimpse of the future of show design. And watch it from fairly CLOSE UP in person. You see those fantastic multiplying effects of the silver mirrors, the silver uniform sequins flashing in your eyes, the silver sidecapes and silver drums reflecting light. You see the effects of corps members in front of and behind mirrors creating the effect that the "images" are marching right out of the mirrors. BD's trying to achieve effects like "broken glass" falling on the field, the discordant music makes the audience "uncomfortable", powerful tensions in the music and show design wash over the audience and don't get resolved until that final chord repeats 7 times at the end. The guard is wearing the most disruptive of costume colors. If you sit high, you don't see the amazing mirror effects, you see the tops of plumes behind mirrors, etc. SIT CLOSER!

What if I don't want to sit closer? What if I can't afford those tickets? I'm gonna have to sit high, and I guess not enjoy BD's show.

That's disappointing.