jwillis35 Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 (edited) I wasn't sure if there was another thread for this, but I thought I would say a few words about the Bluecoats for this coming year. I drove down to the town of Granville, OH yesterday (about 16mi east of Columbus, OH) to see the Bluecoats perform their show at spring training. Yesterday was family and alumni day for the corps. They had a big turnout of fans. Many alums, parents, and fans. Their spring training facility, which is Dennison University, is first rate. The corps has use of the football field, indoor field house, the side field, gymnasium for sleeping, and a number of parking lots for their trucks. The corps looks to be in great shape if you ask me. They have now completed about 75% of their show with one more week to go before their first performance. They performed the first 3/4 of their show, then played the closer in concert arc. The captions seem strong again. Brass and percussion should be incredible. The guard looked great for this early, and I am not a good judge of guard. The guard still has more to learn in terms of routine and they did not perform in uniform since their design is not in just yet. The pit was excellent, playing a number of things for the crowd before the show began. Brave New World is a complex concept and contains some wonderful music ideas that the corps will develop as the summer progresses. The closer, in my opinion, could be incredible with the grooves that it establishes. The middle portion of the show did not have a typical ballad, but a collection of musical ideas that get spread across the field in 4 gigantic circles, with each one containing a musical element, and then it gets combined. In fact, the show starts with the corps' brass section surrounding the sides and back sideline of the football field. This show has some excellent field coverage. The show also opens to complete silence and some sound effects. Body movement and dance are utilized in the opening sequence. It definitely catches your eye, and later on your ear. Overall the corps looks big in all sections, very talented as always, and just about on track to complete their show in time for Saginaw, TX. Go Bloooooo! Edited June 12, 2011 by jwillis35 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monoemono Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Overall the corps looks big in all sections, very talented as always, and just about on track to complete their show in time for Saginaw, TX. Go Bloooooo! Thanks for the report. Looking forward to another exciting Bluecoats corps this year. BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RxBlooSynthMom Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Thank you so much for this! I cannot wait to see the show in Grand Rapids! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueR36 Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Thank you!! Looking forward to seeing and hearing them this summer!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShouldveMarchedAgeOut Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I wasn't sure if there was another thread for this, but I thought I would say a few words about the Bluecoats for this coming year. I drove down to the town of Granville, OH yesterday (about 16mi east of Columbus, OH) to see the Bluecoats perform their show at spring training. Yesterday was family and alumni day for the corps. They had a big turnout of fans. Many alums, parents, and fans. Their spring training facility, which is Dennison University, is first rate. The corps has use of the football field, indoor field house, the side field, gymnasium for sleeping, and a number of parking lots for their trucks. The corps looks to be in great shape if you ask me. They have now completed about 75% of their show with one more week to go before their first performance. They performed the first 3/4 of their show, then played the closer in concert arc. The captions seem strong again. Brass and percussion should be incredible. The guard looked great for this early, and I am not a good judge of guard. The guard still has more to learn in terms of routine and they did not perform in uniform since their design is not in just yet. The pit was excellent, playing a number of things for the crowd before the show began. Brave New World is a complex concept and contains some wonderful music ideas that the corps will develop as the summer progresses. The closer, in my opinion, could be incredible with the grooves that it establishes. The middle portion of the show did not have a typical ballad, but a collection of musical ideas that get spread across the field in 4 gigantic circles, with each one containing a musical element, and then it gets combined. In fact, the show starts with the corps' brass section surrounding the sides and back sideline of the football field. This show has some excellent field coverage. The show also opens to complete silence and some sound effects. Body movement and dance are utilized in the opening sequence. It definitely catches your eye, and later on your ear. Overall the corps looks big in all sections, very talented as always, and just about on track to complete their show in time for Saginaw, TX. Go Bloooooo! This is what I'm most interested in. I think this could be very very cool! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecoats88 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 To build on what he said, the reason for the corps not performing the closer drill was due to the fact that they decided the first drill they wrote just didn't work and they rewrote the closer drill. They have learned some if not all of that new drill but didn't feel it was ready to be performed by the corps just yet. I for one can't wait to see what the new drill looks like because the music sounds like it will lend itself to some amazing movement. As for the corps size, they have filled all spots and are marching 80 brass (24 sops, 16 mellos, 24 bari/euph, and 16 contras) 20 battery (10 snares, 5 tenors, 5 basses) I think they had 11 in the pit but don't remember, and not sure the number of the guard but there was one missing and I saw her in the stands with a walking boot on so she must be recovering from an injury. I can't wait to see the finished product, because from what I could tell when this show is cleaned it will be relly sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruckner8 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 As for the corps size, they have filled all spots and are marching 80 brass (24 sops, 16 mellos, 24 bari/euph, and 16 contras) 20 battery (10 snares, 5 tenors, 5 basses) I think they had 11 in the pit but don't remember, and not sure the number of the guard but there was one missing and I saw her in the stands with a walking boot on so she must be recovering from an injury. Yes, 11 pit: 80 Brass (24S/16M/8B/16E/16C) 20 Battery (10S/5T/5B) 11 Pit 36 Guard 3 Dm/Conductors ---------------- 150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Thanks for the reports. It sounds like they are primed to pick up where they left off last year! I am excited to see how it all comes together. They were my favorite corps last season. I would love to see them on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryfe Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Yes, 11 pit: Wow, that's kind of surprising, but definitely accurate after looking at pictures -- 5 marimbas, 4 vibes, 1 xylo/bells?/rack, 1 synth. The back-row vibes look like they'll be doing a lot of rack work. I wonder if it was within the pit's jurisdiction (which is usually nothing) to make the choice to go that small. I'm guessing not. I'm sure it will work for them, though, and I know very well that that pit is smokin' good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouooga Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Just wanted to point out one of the pictures I saw on Facebook (couldn't figure out how to post it). There's a few shots of the entire hornline and percussion section assembled in a tiny block between the 40 and 30, ala 2008. Same side of the field too. This show is going to be LOUD! Can someone figure out how to post that picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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