saxfreq1128 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 In the Performing Arts, the audience is the ultimate judge of what is good or bad, or something in between..... not the show producers. In this case it is different as 10 selected people have been designated to determine what is good, bad, or something in between. But at the end of the day, the audience still has a personal say in the matter, as they don't give up their right to determine for themselves what they personally like or don't like in music, dance, or theatre, or movies, art, etc to any other human being. One thing not to forget, though? Audiences' opinions change. There isn't any such thing as a finite, singular "audience" that continues to agree with itself throughout time. That's history for you. Melville died poor and practically unknown. 0 people read Moby Dick when it first came out in the 1850s. Now it's a cultural staple and everyone knows Melville's name. Meanwhile, few of us could name offhand the most popular authors of Melville's time. Audiences change. I think when we try to decry or defend how "the audience" feels about something, we need to keep in mind that we're talking about a very dynamic thing. That's true of the performing arts as with everything else. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasgre2000 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) I would actually suggest that if you want to see how well they are executing, that you try to take yourself out of the overall concept and just focus on the way they move for a while ... and then listen to what they are playing. They are executing the show amazingly. I love the show as a whole (both visually and musically), but if you try to take yourself out of theme and just focus on specific aspects of their performance, you will see why they are scoring so high. Maybe just focus on one particular performer for an extended period of time. Not that the other corps aren't performing at a high level also. Crown's performance tonight was amazing. Edited August 10, 2012 by jasgre2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Let me first start by saying in no way is this meant to be another bash BD thread - I've read them all, and am not trying to rehash those, so please keep that in mind. I've seen BD's show twice now - once live, and once in the theater tonight. I'm in no way a stranger to the activity. I have a marching background, a music background (gig on the side to this day), have been a fan of the marching arts for a long time, and been to Finals every year since 1989. With all of that out of the way, I know the people who like BD's show this year tend to say that it is a brilliant design and is performed probably even more brilliantly - I can't say that I see it that way. Do I think it's really good - yes, but while I get the show concept, I still don't see what the others who like it are saying, and I want to understand. I have one more shot at this on Sat. at Finals (before turning to recordings). What do I need to look for to see why BD's design and performance are so brilliant? Again, I just want to understand and know what to look for on Saturday. Think like a DCI GE judge and you'll get it. if your curious to how they think just don't and your halfway there to getting it. I think the concept is cool, the music is fine, the visual is... Creative... and I get the show! I just don't get how it's being judged against other shows. And I think if I knew why it deserves the scores it has in about half it's captions or so I may not come across as a hater. I am glad DCI can be creative and think outside the box but I just would like to know how that's judged! Ok rant off. :) May the best Crown Corps win! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njfritz Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 May the best Crown Corps win! :D I see what you did there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flammaster Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 what to look for in Blue Devils show? Blue Devils 112121111111111111222211111119.7019.6019.6519.7019.5019.6039.259.809.7019.5010.009.9019.909.809.6019.4029.409.609.6019.209.609.7019.309.809.5019.3028.90097.5500.0097.550 Read more: http://www.dci.org/scores/recap/view.cfm?event_id=5f186909-1ed4-4a7f-bd47-02ef4a2f18fd#ixzz237Fqinyw 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoContraAlum Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I don't know, maybe I'm going out on a limb here, but isn't it kind of sad that one has to be "taught" how to enjoy Blue Devils show? Not the first time this has happened in DCI. WAY back in 1982, Phantom handed out librettos for Spartacus. And before DCI even existed, 1971 Cadets had "liner notes" for their show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flammaster Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Hey even the Cavaliers are doing a tribute to Blue Devils! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 No. Which is why their show is nothing but posing. From that standpoint, it'd be ripe for someone else to REALLY make fun of it, if only Velvet Knights were still around to do it. Hey Jersey Surf, I have an idea for you for next season... I like much of Devils show this year in spite of its posing, but I like the traditional drum corps elements of it. The 'concept' is pure WGI. But to be fair, Blue Devils DO have to work within the confines of DCI and its sheets. They're not trying to be pure dadaists, merely trying to portray the broad (ish) ideas/concepts of dadaism. As you and others have mentioned, if they were doing truly dada, they would likely not meet criteria on the sheets as they are currently written. I think that would make for a far more interesting and challenging show, but clearly Blue Devils (like every other corps in the activity) want to be competitively successful. I think BD is portraying dada for the novice masses (and by 'novice' I'm being kind: I would stipulate that the majority of DCI fans know little to nothing about what dada is), and I think in that regard they are succeeding. They are portraying dada as close as they probably could in this medium. I would agree that the concept is pretty WGI-influenced, but I'm not sure if that's a bad thing: it's certainly the trend currently, and from a conceptual standpoint the line seems to be ever blurring between WGI and marching band/DCI. Unfortunately, I think most corps who delve into this style aren't succeeding anywhere near the level of Blue Devils conceptually, and I think the corps doing more of a "drum corps" style show are doing better than those doing more "WGI" style shows for the most part (I'd say Crown, Phantom, SCV, Cadets are all doing traditional shows this year, while BD, Bluecoats, Cavaliers are doing more WGI shows). That's another argument, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 If you don't like it you weren't supposed to I guess. I have always loved abstract art but my main reason for liking this show is the music. They could have done a cheezy christm..ok bad example...They could have done a lame show while building a dumb house on the field and I still would have liked it as long as it didn't have pop tunes from the 60's that I never liked anyway. Hows that? You are so hilarious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Cycle Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I'm putting this right up front: I'm biased against BD in general Tonight's show (this year's show in general I mean) sort of felt like a big middle finger from the director aimed at the judges/audience. It came across as very haughty ... like "we'll do whatever we want but make sure to meet your checklist and win". I just can't understand how this show is doing so well. "It's supposed to be weird and different" is an excuse. If a corps had a show called "SIMPLE gifts" and literally played a 10-minute vamp of Simple Gifts with a very normal marching block, would people say "oh, it's SUPPOSED to be simple, it takes us back to the core of the activity"? NO, they'd say "it's boring, unchallenging, and has no effect on the audience". The thing is, I think those things about BD this year. The kids are doing great, doing everything asked of them. The problem for me (and many others, apparently) is that they are being asked to hop, roll, lunge, and jump instead of march. They play one note in a repeated "cut up" riff and then put their instruments down and dance. The gimmick of gradually "putting on" their uniforms was INSANE to me ... they literally rolled out clothing racks and got dressed lazily during the show! I "get" the whole concept, but why does that concept take such high weight? Isn't that rewarding the designers instead of the performers?? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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