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What direction will BD take in 2011?


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Why are those that just didn't like the 2010 BD show either called haters or told they just don't get it? I don't hate BD but really disliked their show this year. There have been some credible reasons given why many did not like this show. I will say they did create some cool effects with the mirrors, just not enough to make the show enjoyable for me.

It's the people who talk disparagingly about the organization or using overly aggressive language towards the show that people (like myself) have a problem with. You didn't do that, but some people have.

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Wait . . .so when they get back home, does this mean that Dan Acheson is Sybok?

Okay, I'll stop. We may reach nerd overload here soon. :lookaround:

Doesn't matter anyway. In the time we've been posting, they've won '84 and '85....

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That's it! Fran, you've hit on what the corps should use as a visual thread next year. After chairs and mirrors comes flooring!

The movements would be: "Wood," "Laminate," "Stone," "Tile," "Vinyl," "Cork" and "Bamboo." Now to figure out music for each type of flooring. (They could go with "Norwegian Wood" and "In the Stone," but I haven't figured out what they could do for the rest of the show. Any ideas?)

Stone Ground 7

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Firstly I am a big BD fan, always have been always will be.... I just want them to thrill the pants off me liked they used to. Surely it's not to much to ask/hope for is it?

As for the encore numbers, my language was a bit off the cuff but I was there. I moved from my finals seat in the 400 level to the very front of the 100... 2nd row around the 20/25 yard line to watch the encore. From there I could see most of the other levels above me and apart from some folk congregating around the 50 yard line exits they were just about empty. This was my 1st finals and I have nothing to compare encore number with, perhaps this is the norm.

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Firstly I am a big BD fan, always have been always will be.... I just want them to thrill the pants off me liked they used to. Surely it's not to much to ask/hope for is it?

As for the encore numbers, my language was a bit off the cuff but I was there. I moved from my finals seat in the 400 level to the very front of the 100... 2nd row around the 20/25 yard line to watch the encore. From there I could see most of the other levels above me and apart from some folk congregating around the 50 yard line exits they were just about empty. This was my 1st finals and I have nothing to compare encore number with, perhaps this is the norm.

I guess the operative phrase in your post is "like they used to". It's my sense that the most "used to" you're going to get out of this forward thinking organization is what you heard this last year....echos of the past (and there were a bunch in this last show). If you listen you'll hear many of the legendary tunes (or facsimilies).

In short, if my guess is good...BD has learned that "absurdity" is not as risky as they thought.

There are those of the DC audience that will hate BD (as long as they win) no matter what they bring to the table. And then there are those that legitimately don't get their productions. But instead of thinking "well this certainly is something new, I need to step back and see what's going on here", they reject it out of hand, or take the cue from others and begin to use the derogatory lingo de Jour....."undeveloped, snippets" and much worse. You certainly don't have to like their offerings, but it wouldn't hurt to let them show you something different without cutting them off at the knees, ala Star 93.

The bottom line is that BD is not a threat. They are on an evolutionary journey which is natural to any art form...they tested the water in 08 and haven't looked back. You might ask yourself (other than making you smile at a memory), what is their motivation to look back? And just so you don't use the slim pickin's in the encore crowd bit again....BD knew the minute Indiana was selected as the permanent home for finals that as long as they won it would be like this...a population of disgruntled fans wanting someone new on top (particularly someone they supported). "How dare you dominate the gold, how dare you be different, we'll show you!!"

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I guess the operative phrase in your post is "like they used to". It's my sense that the most "used to" you're going to get out of this forward thinking organization is what you heard this last year....echos of the past (and there were a bunch in this last show). If you listen you'll hear many of the legendary tunes (or facsimilies).

In short, if my guess is good...BD has learned that "absurdity" is not as risky as they thought.

There are those of the DC audience that will hate BD (as long as they win) no matter what they bring to the table. And then there are those that legitimately don't get their productions. But instead of thinking "well this certainly is something new, I need to step back and see what's going on here", they reject it out of hand, or take the cue from others and begin to use the derogatory lingo de Jour....."undeveloped, snippets" and much worse. You certainly don't have to like their offerings, but it wouldn't hurt to let them show you something different without cutting them off at the knees, ala Star 93.

The bottom line is that BD is not a threat. They are on an evolutionary journey which is natural to any art form...they tested the water in 08 and haven't looked back. You might ask yourself (other than making you smile at a memory), what is their motivation to look back? And just so you don't use the slim pickin's in the encore crowd bit again....BD knew the minute Indiana was selected as the permanent home for finals that as long as they won it would be like this...a population of disgruntled fans wanting someone new on top (particularly someone they supported). "How dare you dominate the gold, how dare you be different, we'll show you!!"

Devils design staff have found a winning formula that says to me winning is everything even at the expense of entertaining the "vast majority" of the audience. It's a bit like a baseball team winning every game inc. the world series 1-0.... great for their own fans but do you mind if I now go slit my wrists....

I think Devils current direction will win them very few new fans and may well alienate a lot of old fans, that's just my opinion.

Finally, I agree there are those who knock Devils for no real reason other than they are the Blue Devils but I am most definitely not one of those. Like I said earlier, I want them to thrill the pants off me.

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Devils design staff have found a winning formula that says to me winning is everything even at the expense of entertaining the "vast majority" of the audience. It's a bit like a baseball team winning every game inc. the world series 1-0.... great for their own fans but do you mind if I now go slit my wrists....

I think Devils current direction will win them very few new fans and may well alienate a lot of old fans, that's just my opinion.

Finally, I agree there are those who knock Devils for no real reason other than they are the Blue Devils but I am most definitely not one of those. Like I said earlier, I want them to thrill the pants off me.

I think their new approach will win them new, different fans with a different artistic approach that obviously you have, which is fine. They will certainly not gain fans who exclusively enjoy a more straightforward approach, but drum corps is certainly not a popularity contest, right?

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"Engage vs. frustrate" is a false dichotomy. If you found yourself frustrated by BD's show then you were engaged by it. Not in the way you expect or want to be engaged by a drum corps show, but engaged nonetheless.

It was interesting watching the various crowd reactions to BD in Murfreesboro and Atlanta. First, there were plenty of enthusiastic responses . . . no golf claps from my perspective. Other audience members were displaying a silent, but palpable hostility towards what they were seeing on the field. One veteran of another major California corps sitting near me looked positively enraged. One group of jokesters, recent alumni of another BD rival, wore earplugs throughout the show. There was a good deal of befuddlement, notably from band kids and from what appeared to me to be friends/family of marchers who were relatively new to drum corps.

Note: I am in no way attempting to speak for the entire audience. These are my subjective interpretations of the reactions of the few hundred people sitting near enough to me to make such a reading possible. My subjectivity may have blinded to me what was, in fact, an over the top baby throwing reaction to BD's performance. My God have mercy on my soul.

I've never seen such a diverse reaction to a drum corps show. It was almost as fun to watch the faces of the people around me as it was the show itself (I fell into the enthusiastic category, by the way). This surely is what the designers of the show intended, especially when they chose City of Glass. I had the opportunity to watch BD warm-up before their semifinals performance (space chords up close . . . wow). Towards the end of the warm-up they played through the last few minutes of show, and were told that this music "should make people uncomfortable". If you're dubious about this, you can check out a certain tubular website for, uh, part 5 of BD's semis warm-up. Then wait about a minute and ten seconds. Anyways, all the hate, the confusion, the enthusiasm, the "negativity" . . . all of these responses were intentionally cultivated by BD's designers. So BD supporters, don't get all touchy and defensive when someone is "negative" about the show. That only means your corps accomplished its mission.

This begs the question of whether a corps should be trying to make audience members uncomfortable. I welcome the diversity this approach brings to DCI in an era of relentless homogeneity. Others surely disagree. I want BD to continue to do its own thing so long as this formula remains fresh. Then I want them to go even further. That said, for every Blue Devils drum corps has there needs to be 3-4 pure "entertainers", otherwise things might be a little too overwhelming.

Edited by Rifuarian
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