Tony Flores Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 The Salem crowd ate it up last night. And even from my end zone lawn seats, BD was unbelieveable. The projected better than any one. Remember behind any great corps is a pack of haters trying to take em down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highcusmc Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Am I hearing "Legend" in the battery during the show? They're facing backfield at the time I think...In the closer. It's pretty much the coolest drill move during their show. They're in a giant parallelogram and moving to the right in a constant follow the leader; except instead of everyone moving at once the follow the leader is accomplished by having groups of members doing jazz-running-step-sizes and groups of members standing still. ... that explanation was terrible. But I'm pretty sure you'll know it when you see it. ?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highcusmc Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Oh uh, I can see the BD Boo Birds circling, getting ready to pounce on someone who likes the music! I agree, it is by far my favorite of the last 4 years offerings and they were all extraordinary. Downey & Meehan are pure genius! Boo birds can't fly through This Turbulent Air Pressure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highcusmc Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 Think of Kenton's legacy and his library he left to North Texas! It's an amazing amount of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highcusmc Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 My biggest issue right now is 'Laura.'That number is an ensemble tear waiting to happen, because of the gnarly visual design. It's definitely not a disaster, but I think some of the great musical effects that were so apparent in the pre-season recording are muddied, and I'm a little sad about that. It's a tough piece. In order for that big hit to work, everything leading up to it needs to be perfectly in line. They're getting there! And what happened to the spinning sopranos?! I loved that part. This is just like when BD toyed with my heartstrings in 08 by making Mr Stickly's limbs move for a few weeks and then cutting it by finals. IMHO the chances of this show having a tear anywhere by Indy is 100,000,000 to .025. I just know that it will be perfect real soon. Stamina is there, focus is dead on, the quality of the musical book performed in standstill will be matched and exceeded while setting new standards with movement, playing, design and impact. Did Maynard ever tear with Kenton, or any of his musicians. Remember, Laura originally was sung by the band I believe and that worked extremely well. Again this is just IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardman Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Yes, the tank treads and the rotating columns before them....just completely blows my mind every time I see it. Those kids are absolutely amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rd Glasgow BB Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 In years to come DCI fans will refer to the 2010 BD show as one of the shows that changed the direction of Drum Corps. It’s destined to be mentioned in the same context as SCVs asymmetrical drill, Garfields Z-pull or the level of emotion/crowd involvement created by PR in 2008. Love them or loath them, their use of accessories (mirrors) has moved BD on to a different visual planet from every other corps in DCI. Musically I quite like what they’re doing this year (you can’t go wrong with a bit of La Suerte) but I’m one of those folk who sometimes doesn’t get certain bits of jazz. This has nothing to do with BD and everything to do with me. It’s why some years I love everything BD play and why other years their music doesn’t really stand out for me. I can't wait to see them and their mirrors in the oil can next week!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxfreq1128 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 IMHO the chances of this show having a tear anywhere by Indy is 100,000,000 to .025. I just know that it will be perfect real soon. Stamina is there, focus is dead on, the quality of the musical book performed in standstill will be matched and exceeded while setting new standards with movement, playing, design and impact. Did Maynard ever tear with Kenton, or any of his musicians. Remember, Laura originally was sung by the band I believe and that worked extremely well. Again this is just IMHO. I think it'll be perfect soon, too. When you essentially build a glass wall between your upper and lower brass, you're bound to have some ensemble problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highcusmc Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Regarding the separation by that glass wall. Yes, very early they were all very astounded by these issues once they started rehearsing with the 'movers and glass panels'. What is amazing but hard to be aware of is what they have done individually and as a group to prepare and educate themselves on how that separation and potential 'gaffe or tear' could impact the quality of their production. Instead of reducing the musical book, or the body work that even the Contras's and Euph's perform with or reducing the huge amount of 'guard like' body movement required of the horn line they actually increased those same levels of demand and specific responsibilities. What we see now are the results. However after attending some of the camps and rehearsals I hope they put it all together into a "The BD 2010 Behind the Production" video of the previous preparation work with interviews of the members on what it took to make this the outstanding product it is today. It could be a textbook for new band directors or other groups to learn from and build into their own programs. For just one example try in one of the Live performances to follow where the two on field DM's go and how many specific placements they make and when they make those placement transitions. It's a Houdini act just so the horn-line plus the snare line can maintain visual with the podium DM. Also think about how the snare line is playing into the mirrors whom is the lead snare getting his visual from? At one point I have seen a perfectly formed triangulation with the lead snare but from the audience view it looks impossible at the tempo the corps is performing at. I cannot obviously wait to Indy when many will walk out of that Stadium humming Laura, such a lush and beautiful ballad. Then add to that the field placement of the other sections of the horn line. Blue Devils 2010 has not only rewritten the thesis of field placement + sound and visual they also have incorporated the most body work ever that I can remember by a phenomenal horn line that is moving and playing with stamina, grace, precision and with an orchestral sound that is huge, projecting and filling each stadium they have been seen in inside or enclosed with intonation that is penetrating, as their sound takes flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontwan2know Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Regarding the low synth holdover, in addition to being very fitting with the ominous mood of most of the show, I think it's conceptually the mirror image of the screaming high note holdover that usually ends a BD show. It took me three viewings to finally get the show, but once it clicked that virtually everything that's happening out there for the entire 13 minutes is a distorted vision of a typical(or actual past) BD show, I started to see so many things and I find new stuff every time. There are so many musical quotes from past shows with weird harmonies or distorted rhythms, body movement from previous shows being performed by the people looking at themselves in the mirror, etc. It really is one of the most brilliant shows I've ever seen from an intellectual standpoint, especially the way the music book carries out the concept while maintaining its cohesiveness. To me, it is a BD version of Star 93. Radical, defiantly unconventional and hated because it's not SUPPOSED to make you happy or exhilerated or thrilled in the way that drum corps typically does. The whole concept is taking a typical Blue Devils production and giving you a twisted version of it that is familiar looking and sounding, and yet at the same time dark and chilling. It achieves that brilliantly. And it goes without saying the performance level is astounding.... the horn switch has had an impact as well, but this hornline totally recaptures the 80-90s BD sound that has been missing for most of this decade. With all that being said, the ending needs work...glad to hear that changes are coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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