Popular Post Grandpa Posted August 8, 2011 Popular Post Share Posted August 8, 2011 (edited) Just back after around 11 hours on the road. This isn't intended to be a show review, I'm sure others can do a better job than me on that front. I just wanted to keep my promise to check in with my general impressions and commentary on the state of the art. Everything here should be prefaced with - "In my humble opinion".. Most important - as I have been saying all along and had confirmed for me this weekend - the kids are incredible. Talent is off the chart and the work ethic is still as strong as ever. We sat in on practices for Crown, Teal and Surf and can't say enough about how hard these kids work, and how well rounded they are as mucisians and performers. Bravo! :worthy: :worthy: Overall.... There were some incredible shows out there. Loved Phantom, Crown, Crossmen, Scouts, Crusaders and despite the responsibility I place on Hopkins for the charge toward amps etc that he has spearheaded over the years, I loved Cadets. I felt they were the better corps over BD last night. Despite some rumblings I heard about SCV I thought they had a good show, but there were a few things, DCI, that got on my nerves and stop me short of being an unqualified fan-boy again..... 1 - Themes. Who gives a rat's ###? I would have no idea what half the themes were out there unless you told me, and then - what's the point? Yet we seem to go out of the way to sell the theme. I really don't care and wish you would lighten up on this intellectual-emotional wanking. 2 - the big one - A&E. This will take some explaining. There were two big problems for me on the A&E front. One was the use of what I will call "non-standard" instrumentation in the pit. Teal Sound absolutely buried their battery feature with a violin, electic clarinet (?) and bass guitar. As a former snare drummer, if I had been out on the field all day trying to clean up my part in the feature to be tromped on by three over-amped instruments in the pit, I'd be some ###### off. Yes - the violin and hammered dulcimer sound leading into it was pretty, but frankly, I don't want to hear it at a drum corps show. Yanni concert, yes, Nigel Kennedy concert, yes, DCI, no. The violin player was very talented, but used WAY too much. Sorry to pick on Teal, they actually had a fun show for the most part, but gave me too many cringe moments to really be enthusiastic. Crown was another example. I have to say for the most part I LOVED Crown, but the piano thing at the beginning was a "so what?" moment. I would have been far more impressed with the mallets handling this than one guy playing it on the synth. The hit of Bohemian Rhapsody was incredible, but the lead in - not so much. At the end of their show - the synth again, sounding a lot like the guitar riffs at the end of the "Frampton Comes Alive" album. Didn't need it, certainly didn't want it, and to me, it killed an otherwise powerful ending to a great show. There were many other examples. Those are the ones that especially stand out in my memory as great moments ruined or reduced by the pit toys. Second - the goo.... I thought Colts were bad for this until I saw Spirit - big grungy pedal notes stomping all over the tubas on every push. I was ready to get behind them but just couldn't. I'm sorry but there's nothing impressive about one finger holding down one key for 8-12 bars. You've got between 12 and 16 tubas out there working their guts out - let me hear their hard work, not one finger on a key..... Sound effects - what was the killer bee buzzing I heard in a couple of shows? What purpose did it serve other than to annoy? Same for the moog sounds, B-move sci-fi special effects, etc etc. I'm sure they're intended to set a mood, and they certainly do, but not the one you want, if you know what I mean.... Samples and voice overs - Cavaliers show was a bust for me because of the constant Nature Boy clips. After the third one I was thinking "Again? Really???" and of course, it wasn't over yet. The energy just dropped out of the show in those moments. The best thing in Cavies show was the jumping bit and that was all of 10 seconds. I personally had Phantom ahead of them, but I never seem to get it right with the judges. Same for Devils. You have arguably the best hornline in the world out there - why waste so much time with sirens, movie quotes and gun shots? I felt like Devils were holding back throughout their show, but maybe they were being held back. Last thing - props.... I didn't like them in the 80s and this "innovation" hasn't really gone up in my esteem. I thought Devil's props were pointless and cluttered the field. Cascade's cube hid the battery for most of the show and was an unnecessary blob in the centre of the field. Most effective use of props goes to Blue Stars, but I'm pretty sure I saw this prop in WGI 8-9 years ago. The good stuff... Shows are pretty entertaining. Crown won me over as a fan (despite the comments above), Boston and Regiment had wonderfully emotional programs (although I had no idea what Wagner has to do with Romeo and Juliet!!!). Crossmen were all kinds of fun and were probably the most goo-free corps over the two days. Glassmen are no longer "boring their way into our hearts" - I really enjoyed them. I had to look past the sampled singing on the entry but Blue Knight's block entrance was impressive as hell and the show was engaging from beginning to end. Overall it's good to see the guards being featured with equipment exchanges and high demand work, which they are handling extremely well. I forget who it was but someone had a flag-rifle feature down the 50 which brought back memories of the Kingsmen. My theory.... I don't think the pit has ever been really respected in the corps. They're the kids that don't do parades and don't do the sweaty marching blocks, etc etc, and the designers are trying to give them some well deserved respect by overbalancing the show design in their favour. There are multiple pit features in many shows, at the expense of horn and battery playing time. They are also huge - too big for me. And for all the talk of improved technique as an anticipated result of amplification, I'm not seeing it. I'm just hearing a lot of mallet over top of the rest of the corps. So I'd like to see the pendulum swing back to a more balanced position in featuring the different elements of the corps. Right now, it's pit - heavy. Final verict. There are many points where I have to grit my teeth, or am ready to cheer, only to have that enthusiasm sucked out of me by the goo. Including it in the show is a grave disservice to the kids on the field. However, I don't think those cringe moments are enough to keep me from going back next year. Walking around the busses in search of some kids who we know are marching was like coming home. I know this place, these smells, these sights. I have missed it for far too long. I'll be back, DCI, but with reservations. Please don't take my concerns, or my continued support, for granted. Epilogue. For the stalwarts that stuck it out through the rain, Bridgemen Alumni were a blast! Edited August 8, 2011 by Grandpa 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherM Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 and the Bridgemen Alumni truly appreciate the stalwarts that stuck it out in the torrential rain. We had a blast and loved having those fans cheering and clapping in the downpour. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoContraAlum Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Right there with you Heather. VERY MUCH appreciated the folks that did stay, they are why we do this. I had a blast, the corps had a blast, and judging from their reactions, the very wet fans had a blast. Can't wait to do it again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photographer Jim Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Just back after around 11 hours on the road. This isn't intended to be a show review, I'm sure others can do a better job than me on that front. I just wanted to keep my promise to check in with my general impressions and commentary on the state of the art. ...... Final verict. There are many points where I have to grit my teeth, or am ready to cheer, only to have that enthusiasm sucked out of me by the goo. Including it in the show is a grave disservice to the kids on the field. However, I don't think those cringe moments are enough to keep me from going back next year. Walking around the busses in search of some kids who we know are marching was like coming home. I know this place, these smells, these sights. I have missed it for far too long. I'll be back, DCI, but with reservations. Please don't take my concerns, or my continued support, for granted. Grandpa, Thank you for a straight-forward and honest post about your experience. I recall from your posts in other threads that you had approached this trip to the show with some trepidation. I am glad that in the end, you found yourself reconnecting with DCI in a positive way despite your difficulty with the direction you have perceived DCI to be going in during the past few years. I hope that that connection remains for you. I posted in another thread that I do not see A&E as being either the death or the savior of drum corps. I think it can have it's place, but there may be some difficult growing pains along the way as corps learn to fit it into their performances with skill and in ways that are at once pleasing and true to the uniqueness of drum corps. Like yourself, I think that currently, things are in phase of overuse. I sometimes make the analogy to graphic art and photography where many of us had to learn that just because the new tools of Photoshop allowed us to over-saturate colors, it didn't mean that we should. Sometimes learning to wield a tool with a sense of subtlety takes going through some "rough" periods. Anyway, thanks for sharing your experiences. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 Thanks Jim. I'm not sure this is a tool that should be or needs to be used at all. I can't think of one instance where I felt the effect couldn't have been created with traditional instrumentation, and lots where I fervently wished they had not bothered at all. I would be quite happy if they disappeared next year, but DCI never seems to take my advice on these things! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 You know what I think really bothers me the most? It's not knowing for sure if the sound I hear is coming from the kids in the hornline, or from a pre-programmed sound file. Sometimes it's obvious, with those horrible goo notes I described above. The rest of the time, I'm not sure. What that the hornline or was that the synth? It's almost like watching the olympic athletes and wondering if that was a natural, human performance, or an artificially enhanced one. I really don't like that ambiguity. It cheapens the whole performance, in my view.... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photographer Jim Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 You know what I think really bothers me the most? It's not knowing for sure if the sound I hear is coming from the kids in the hornline, or from a pre-programmed sound file. Sometimes it's obvious, with those horrible goo notes I described above. The rest of the time, I'm not sure. What that the hornline or was that the synth? It's almost like watching the olympic athletes and wondering if that was a natural, human performance, or an artificially enhanced one. I really don't like that ambiguity. It cheapens the whole performance, in my view.... I understand that feeling. To me that is one of the indications that things are overdone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 (edited) I understand that feeling. To me that is one of the indications that things are overdone. I spoke to a couple of Crossmen staff who came into the stands to watch their corps perform. Really great guys, and I asked them about exactly this question. They said they had greatly pared down the synth backup of the tubas, etc, and that the member playing the synth was a returning vet who said up front he didn't want to be playing sound effects or augmenting the tuba sound the whole show. It seems they worked with his suggestions. One of them said something to the effect of "with Crossmen, when you hear tuba, it's really tuba." I was glad to hear that. It was an interesting chat. I had enjoyed Crossmen immensly, and the information these two guys shared with me after their performance gave me some insight as to why. Edited August 8, 2011 by Grandpa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Anello Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 You know what I think really bothers me the most? It's not knowing for sure if the sound I hear is coming from the kids in the hornline, or from a pre-programmed sound file. Sometimes it's obvious, with those horrible goo notes I described above. The rest of the time, I'm not sure. What that the hornline or was that the synth? It's almost like watching the olympic athletes and wondering if that was a natural, human performance, or an artificially enhanced one. I really don't like that ambiguity. It cheapens the whole performance, in my view.... Couldn't agree with you more. The discussions about, "Who has the loudest hornline," seems ridiculous to me since electronics are the steroids of modern-day drum corps. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photographer Jim Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 I spoke to a couple of Crossmen staff who came into the stands to watch their corps perform. Really great guys, and I asked them about exactly this question. They said they had greatly pared down the synth backup of the tubas, etc, and that the member playing the synth was a returning vet who said up front he didn't want to be playing sound effects or augmenting the tuba sound the whole show. It seems they worked with his suggestions. One of them said something to the effect of "with Crossmen, when you hear tuba, it's really tuba." I was glad to hear that. It was an interesting chat. I had enjoyed Crossmen immensly, and the information these two guys shared with me after their performance gave me some insight as to why. My hope is that this would become the prevailing approach for corps as we progress down the line. For me, its a lot like trying to create a gourmet meal; a little of the right spice can accent the natural flavors of the dish. Too much and the spice becomes over-powering and all one can taste. Right now, I think the cooks are still learning, and still have a ways to go until they get the A&E "seasoning" figured out. Thankfully, things aren't such that I no longer want to come to the table and enjoy the meal being offered. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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