Prelims!

[JulesBry]

OK....we get it.....you don't get it...fine!!!

And just to be accurate, I don't give a #### if you love BD again.....really! That is your taste and belongs to you....and no amount of marketing is going to change that! It's called freedom of choice. My comments were only directed toward the continued behavior of so-called drum corps fans that feel comfortable doing the ridicuous crap they do to any corps on the field. Like their show....don't like it.....whatever.....just respect the performers. This really isn't that difficult to understand.

It's not about marketing. It's about DCI rewarding quality designs. BD corps members are performing extremely well and deserve recognition for that fact. However, they're performing a show that lacks the aesthetic polish of their competitors. It doesn't look clean. Admittedly, that's my opinion, but I don't think I'm alone.

Maybe BD wants to tick off the fans. That's also their right. But when fans react negatively, BD shouldn't be surprised. People should certainly remain civil and encourage the performers, but the system you have is perfectly designed to get the results you're getting. That's a rule that I've found to be 100% true.

[Plan9]

I realize that, but an earlier poster noted that the worst of the anti-BD vitriol - booing at the theaters and the like - came from the youngest fans, which IMO is true. They don't have the memories of BD past the rest of us do. Instead they think that the "make-'em-squirm" BD is all there ever has been and all there ever will be, and they hate it when BD beats the shows they like for reasons they can't or won't understand (in spite of exhaustive explanations on my part).

Thank you!

[bchorn]

I realize that, but an earlier poster noted that the worst of the anti-BD vitriol - booing at the theaters and the like - came from the youngest fans, which IMO is true. They don't have the memories of BD past the rest of us do. Instead they think that the "make-'em-squirm" BD is all there ever has been and all there ever will be, and they hate it when BD beats the shows they like for reasons they can't or won't understand (in spite of exhaustive explanations on my part).

You're right. I can't imagine what I think about BD if I've only been watching then since 2008. Combine those feelings with a lack of maturity and I might have been boo'ing too.

[Rifuarian]

Thank you!

Many of the conversations I've had since 2007 echo a lot of the arguments on this forum:

Kid: "They don't march at 300bpm like the Cadevies! They don't march at all!"

Me: "Well . . ."

Other Kid: "And they didn't have horses! Why are they sooooooooooooooo boring?"

Me: "Yes."

It makes me a little sad that BD doesn't do the sort of show that made thousands of young fans fall in love with them in the past, but at the same time I love BD's current artistic direction and want them to keep pursuing it (so long as other corps don't start aping it).

[N.E. Brigand]

But this year, this behavior is particularly distasteful in that BD's designers have made a huge effort to "answer the mail" from critics (non-judges for certain). As Cesario said, "They've taken a huge gamble" (re: departing from their clearly dominant "out there" designs). So what do they get for their effort? Continued rude responses as have been represented in this thread.

The real truth (you know, the one that can't be co-opted) in my view is: This crap isn't going to stop until BD has been sufficiently pushed out of the top 3 to the satisfaction of those rude fans/homers.

Well, "more accessible" does not necessarily mean "accessible". It depends on your starting point. Just because Blue Devils selected more familiar music (though I think "Laura" is every bit as mainstream a choice as anything by Bacharach) doesn't mean that the show as a whole is especially fan-friendly. Also, as others have noted, many of the more experienced fans grumbling at BD the past few years seem to be quite fond of their older performances. How do you explain that?

For what it's worth, the small audience with me in the theater last night didn't boo the Devils, but didn't cheer much either. They did sound surprised when the Blue Devils were announced behind Cadets, though.

[Gary Matczak]

I've spoken to the management and they're looking into it.

alright,..........this is the last we heard from Gadget,.............what did you guys do with him?

[N.E. Brigand]

For all those interested, I wrote a short analysis of BD's show concept last night. If you're struggling to find the connection between Burt Bacharach, the props and the title, it might help you out a bit. If you disagree or dislike it, please still be kind. It's on my personal blog... and I'm kinda scared to throw it out there to DCP.

The Beat My Heart Skipped

Thanks for that analysis. (And in reply to another respondent: "tl;d[n]r" is such a crude remark. If you didn't read it, just don't comment on it at all. And how frantic is the world, if 800 words is "long".) I see that Plan 9 previously suggested what you have, that the Devils' show title comes from a French film, The Beat That My Heart Skipped* -- and in a way which perhaps suggests that someone at BD has confirmed the allusion. Does anyone know if that's so? I preferred your point about the white pvc suggesting a blueprint, a word I had overlooked in the Blue Devil's own description, that you reference.

*It's bad form to quote Wikipedia (or any other source) without citation, by the way. You write, without quotation marks: "It’s the story of a man named Tom, a real estate gangster who is torn between a criminal life and his desire to become a concert pianist." Wikipedia reads, "It tells the story of Tom, a real estate thug torn between a criminal life and his desire to become a concert pianist." That's too close to be called a paraphrase. Regarding that description, I must say that the idea of a "real estate thug [gangster]" is peculiar. If there is a connection to the film, are we meant to think of Blue Devils as criminals?

[ApathyJones]

"The real truth (you know, the one that can't be co-opted) in my view is: This crap isn't going to stop until BD has been sufficiently pushed out of the top 3 to the satisfaction of those rude fans/homers."

This is 100000% the truth. Anyone who doesn't believe this is a moron.

[euponitone]

Ah, DCP. Where you can prove that you are right by calling everyone who disagrees with you a moron.

If only the rest of the world were so simple and clean-cut...

[Nilla]

Thanks for that analysis. (And in reply to another respondent: "tl;d[n]r" is such a crude remark. If you didn't read it, just don't comment on it at all. And how frantic is the world, if 800 words is "long".) I see that Plan 9 previously suggested what you have, that the Devils' show title comes from a French film, The Beat That My Heart Skipped* -- and in a way which perhaps suggests that someone at BD has confirmed the allusion. Does anyone know if that's so? I preferred your point about the white pvc suggesting a blueprint, a word I had overlooked in the Blue Devil's own description, that you reference.

*It's bad form to quote Wikipedia (or any other source) without citation, by the way. You write, without quotation marks: "It’s the story of a man named Tom, a real estate gangster who is torn between a criminal life and his desire to become a concert pianist." Wikipedia reads, "It tells the story of Tom, a real estate thug torn between a criminal life and his desire to become a concert pianist." That's too close to be called a paraphrase. Regarding that description, I must say that the idea of a "real estate thug [gangster]" is peculiar. If there is a connection to the film, are we meant to think of Blue Devils as criminals?

I'm pretty sure there's no confirmation of any direct link between the two titles. I don't think there's a 1-1 comparison between the corps and the main character, either. If there's any connection, it's his passion for music and using music/love as his escape from the real world.

Thanks for the tips on citation. I didn't think I would end up sharing it with anyone, but now that it's out there, I'll cite & clean it up now.

EDIT: Also, thanks for the link to Plan9's post! I hadn't seen it before & I actually like his thoughts about the title more than mine!

Edited August 12, 2011 by Nilla