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The audience at my theater went APES@#$ for (x) corps


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One person made jokes, not during the show, but afterwards, during the commentary

Wait...your previous post said "people" and "during the show"....

Your credibility is waning...

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Wait...your previous post said "people" and "during the show"....

Your credibility is waning...

Whatever. It happened. I don't need to have credibility with you. I mis-spoke earlier. Sorry. I thought it was more, but thinking back, it was one person. And one thing was yelled at the ending to their show, and the rest occurred during the commentary afterwards.

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As I sat in the theatre, in front of 2 drum corps Legends and mentors of mine .......... I could only chuckle and giggle and "inform" them on some things that have changed since they have left the DCI activity. The commentary from these two fine gents throughout (and at times LOUDLY ... they're losing their hearing a bit in their latter years) was nothing but priceless.

"Oh?" ......"That must be a Hardimon line"......"It's a shame Academy can't get more credit"......"Madison needs more modulation" .......... "FINALLY!" ........... "I conducted this piece in '56 with _______ University" ............. "I'm really impressed with what Boston is doing" ............ "These guys play flams like girls" ............ "Double stop ... double stop .... SLAM! Gee that's creative" ................................ "G7? What's that all about?" ............ "This should have ended after Cadets and Crown" .......... "Gold horns are legal?" ........ "Now that's a hornline" ........... "Let me guess .... Van Doren?"

As for BD, "Is this #### over yet?" Me, "I have no effing Clue". Gent #2, "I gotta wizz, if it ain't over it should have been when they were announced".

All I needed were 3 cigars and a bottle of nice Scotch and this would have been the best night of my life. By all accounts, these guys were pretty spot on with most comments.

My account of the show:

Coats and Cavies were noticably dirty visually tonight. Feet were everywhere, stickouts in forms, you name it. If these 2 want a chance at BD ... they need to march better (I dont' care what the recaps say). Best sounding hornlines of the night were SCV, Cadets and Crown. SCV and BD were heavily over amped in the pit. The spread from 12 to 13 is real and should be what it is ... although I did have Academy in 13th safely. Madison and BAC should be closer than the spread. I think Scouts have a chance to move up tomorrow. Cadets and Crown should not be 2 pts behind 2nd ... no way! Crowns ending worked for me .. it wasn't great but the rewind really did tie it together decently (just not a Championship worthy ending).

BD: I don't really consider this a drum corps show. The rudimentary elements of traditional drum corps are hardly there. They are a great product and extremely talented. When they did march .. it was stellar. When the brass did play .. it was stellar. The arrangements of the music used in this production are, in and of itself, a completely different work of music than the source material. It is a NEW composition that does not reflect the original intent of the source material. The guard is absolutely stellar. The visual package is more about staging than it is about marching. It was a production created with the stage in mind .. and the movement of the corps proper reflected that (no pun intended). This corps of performers does have a smidgen of elements that would qualify as "rudimentary elements of drum corps", but it's just enough to show that they are capable and not enough to warrant the credit given. Will this show be talked about in 20 years as ahead of it's time? I think it will be remembered as the next to last step in BD leaving drum corps behind. Was it effective? YES. The major effect driven by the product? Discord and Contempt. It is an incredible show .. but it is not a drum corps show. You've already read the reaction from others above. There was zero applause.

The big winner tonight with the Fan$ at the theatre was pretty close between Madison and Crown with Cadets at a close 3rd. (Had to answer the OP)

Edited by supersop
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BD: I don't really consider this a drum corps show. The rudimentary elements of traditional drum corps are hardly there...It is an incredible show .. but it is not a drum corps show. You've already read the reaction from others above. There was zero applause.

It's interesting that you would claim it's an "incredible show", while quickly noting that noone was applauding (how can it be so incredible then? unless you're speaking more to the quality of the viewers than the quality of the show which is certainly MY take but I didn't think it was yours).

Can you point to other shows in the past that were "not a drum corps show", or is this the one and only?

The interesting thing I got from the rest of your comments was that the stuff that you consider "rudimentary elements of traditional drum corps" have evolved over time and for the most part it wasn't BD that did it but Star, your guys from Jersey, and most recently Cavies with the final piece of the puzzle (music enslaved by an all-important visual program).

Some of your complaints were mentioned in 89 (Cadets have too much scatter drill, not enough marching to "judge" properly), and 93 (Star is all staging and body movement, not enough marching etc...).

My point is that all of these elements have been introduced by a few of the cutting edge teams over the years, the Blue Devils this year have only gone the next step and utilized ALL of it COMPLETELY. Thus the rudimentary elements YOU are looking for (marching, big brass statements or whatever) play a small roll because they are presented alongside EVERYTHING ELSE.

Not saying it's good or bad (I like it), but in a sense this is the ULTIMATE drum corps show since it incorporates so many innovations of the past 25 years or so. So much so that to you it has "gone too far".

Actually many years ago I wondered what would happen if a corps essentially abandoned marching altogether and presented instead a unified visual package. Now we know. It scores well but pisses people off. :lol:

Just my 2 cents.

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Boston and Madison got the best receptions at my theatre, while Cadets got an honorable mention.

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It's interesting that you would claim it's an "incredible show", while quickly noting that noone was applauding (how can it be so incredible then? unless you're speaking more to the quality of the viewers than the quality of the show which is certainly MY take but I didn't think it was yours).

Can you point to other shows in the past that were "not a drum corps show", or is this the one and only?

The interesting thing I got from the rest of your comments was that the stuff that you consider "rudimentary elements of traditional drum corps" have evolved over time and for the most part it wasn't BD that did it but Star, your guys from Jersey, and most recently Cavies with the final piece of the puzzle (music enslaved by an all-important visual program).

Some of your complaints were mentioned in 89 (Cadets have too much scatter drill, not enough marching to "judge" properly), and 93 (Star is all staging and body movement, not enough marching etc...).

My point is that all of these elements have been introduced by a few of the cutting edge teams over the years, the Blue Devils this year have only gone the next step and utilized ALL of it COMPLETELY. Thus the rudimentary elements YOU are looking for (marching, big brass statements or whatever) play a small roll because they are presented alongside EVERYTHING ELSE.

Not saying it's good or bad (I like it), but in a sense this is the ULTIMATE drum corps show since it incorporates so many innovations of the past 25 years or so. So much so that to you it has "gone too far".

Actually many years ago I wondered what would happen if a corps essentially abandoned marching altogether and presented instead a unified visual package. Now we know. It scores well but pisses people off. :lol:

Just my 2 cents.

To your first statement:

I can claim it's an incredible show while at the same time qualifying it as "not a drum corps show". The people who did not applaud the total product were expecting a "drum corps show". You can read my personal observations segment 2 ways.

1) It has tipped the scales away from traditional marching and accessible music, amount of brass play, amount of traditional marching or lack thereof .. etc etc etc ad nauseum. I'm a hater and all I'm doing is bagging on an "Incredible Show". The word you're not qualifying here is "show". It was definitely a show on a football field.

or

2) If I were to view this as a fully staged production and siting most of your post as true and accurate and in agreement with your perception of the new vs. old rudimentary elements of drum corps ....... then it's perfectly reasonable for me to give highest praise and admiration for the product as displayed ...................... THERE IS A HUGE COMPLIMENT IN THERE!!!

I take it to heart (the little slap in the face of everyone else at the theatre with your remarks), what you said. I was surrounded by paying customers who were expecting to see some assemblance resembling a drum corps show from the potential championship show. They didn't get what they paid for.

Perhaps I'm saying both 1 and 2. By having (fake number) 90% of your visual show using scatter/freeform/staging/body movement/props/whatever ....... it eliminates the potential to adjudicate uniformity of technique and most other elements on the execution sheets. Same said for the music caption. While executing the show they were given to near perfection, it is a show that is so far beyond the boundaries of what can be judged .. that it shouldn't be judged or have a number placed beside it. There's no true way to quantify the numbers given .. because they should not apply to what was performed. It INDEED was an incredible show. Excellent performers, incredible staging, and the effect was concussive (as designed).

Why limit yourselves to the likes of DCI? You're not .. you're rewriting the gameplan for what wins and honestly, nobody wants to see other corps follow in your footsteps ...... it would no longer be drumcorps. It would be corps theatre on a football field... and that's fine, but not for DCI.

Why limit your product to conform to something that is judged? You're not, because they are truly not capable of applying your product to the criteria on the sheets ... the sheets are decades behind when it comes to this type of design. YOU WIN!

In the end, we've come full circle. It's and INCREDIBLE SHOW ....... but it's not drum and bugle corps as we have EVER known it.

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To your first statement:

I can claim it's an incredible show while at the same time qualifying it as "not a drum corps show". The people who did not applaud the total product were expecting a "drum corps show". You can read my personal observations segment 2 ways.

Well, you've mentioned the fact that you don't care for it, which is why I'm puzzled as to why you would say at the same time it's incredible. Personally, I've never seen any "incredible" show that I didn't dig. Maybe that's just me. :lol:

I take it to heart (the little slap in the face of everyone else at the theatre with your remarks), what you said. I was surrounded by paying customers who were expecting to see some assemblance resembling a drum corps show from the potential championship show. They didn't get what they paid for.

That's an interesting way to put it, although a bit hyperbolic if you ask me. They got drums (played incredibly well), brass (played incredibly well), and a visual feast to go with it (yes, INCLUDING some excellent marching).

If they didn't care for the music, that's fine but it's not as though corps are required to provide "music for the masses" (again, you Jersey guys started THAT trend a way way long time ago).

Did they find it boring? Perhaps, but I can tell you I've been bored to tears by many drum corps over the years and I never felt as though I should ask for a refund lol.

I *sort* of understand your point about it being SO out there people didn't feel like they got what they paid for, in the sense that if you were promised a night with the New York Philharmonic and they came out with a 2 hour medley of Metallica tunes it would probably #### a lot of people off. I wouldn't be one of them, though, I'd dig something like that lots if it was well done.

Perhaps I'm saying both 1 and 2. By having (fake number) 90% of your visual show using scatter/freeform/staging/body movement/props/whatever ....... it eliminates the potential to adjudicate uniformity of technique and most other elements on the execution sheets. Same said for the music caption.

I disagree with you here. You can certainly judge the visual aspects of ALL the stuff you mention and determine whether they're doing them well. If you think what they're doing is too easy or whatever, you can deduct accordingly.

You mention visual and brass, but what about drums? The only caption where they are actually showing some weakness, is that equally as "unjudgable"? If not, why not?

You're not .. you're rewriting the gameplan for what wins and honestly, nobody wants to see other corps follow in your footsteps ...... it would no longer be drumcorps. It would be corps theatre on a football field... and that's fine, but not for DCI.

Guess I'm nobody, cause I'd LOVE to see things go in that direction as long as everyone doing it was doing it well and with a unique style and appropriate "twists".

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I was at the Atlanta show and again last night at the theater. Here's my take on the crowds reaction to the Blue Devils...

UNCOMFORTABLE!

Anybody else feeling really uncomfortable when you hear crickets at the end of a BLUE DEVILS show??? Love it or hate the show itself, just sad that's the feeling I'm left with at the end of the Blue Devils performance. I know they are better than everyone else...heck they know they are too, but I think lots of people have tried to enjoy the show and just don't. It's out there for sure, but there have been out there shows that people have gotten behind in the past. I hate that BD has become so polarizing with this production.

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I'll put it as concisely as I can.

It is my belief that what we have witnessed in the Blue Devils program this year is a NEW BRAND of a performing arts ensemble. If you will, you could call it a new idiom altogether. If that "new idiom" could be defined at this time .... it would probably help you understand my posts more clearly.

It is not a slight to say that the Blue Devils show this year is not drum and bugle corps. They have created a product that is a game changer. IMNSHO, by being so "outside of the box" or "outside the lines", it's a ridiculous notion to think that scores can be quantified when the product you are judging is not the product as defined by DCI (the sheets). This is a product now defined by the Blue Devils.

I knew this coming in to the theatre. Because I knew what I was about to witness, I absorbed the performance NOT from a drum corps perspective, but from a stage perspective (ala Blast!). Just a huge greeeeeeeeen stage with white lines and a horse shoe in the middle of a helmet. I think a full field sized tarp would have helped with the effect of the show .. eliminating the football field altogether. This show crosses all lines of other idioms within the marching arts (WGI/BOA) so why should I consider them JUST a drum a bugle corps anymore?

Call it a drum and bugle corps show if you want ... it really doesn't matter. I didn't view it as such, and for that, I was able to appreciate it for what it was ....... admire the excellence of the design and effect ........ wonder what it would be like if they weren't restricted to 15 minutes ......... even hope that someday BD will keep this show in their bag of tricks for when they do go off the grid and perform a 2 hour show and expand upon what they've created this year.

Sucks that I have to keep posting like this, because if you were truly reading my posts at face value (and even read between the lines a little bit) you'd see I'm giving them props for what they've accomplished ...... while at the same time praying that no other corps go in this direction. Drum corps has been redefined by innovative shows ... it's been further redefined by rules changes ......... and this product presented by the Blue Devils is (as you said) "taking things way too far" to still be considered a drum corps show.

Can I make it any clearer?

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