Njfritz Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 What to look for in BD's show this year? Back of the eyelids. Taking the music in I see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 (edited) This is why I loved Cadets last year with Angels and Demons. Perfect blend of innovation, difficulty, and just great drum corps. Ditto! Edited August 10, 2012 by charlie1223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 See, I don't see or hear any innovation from Crown, but that's all I see and hear when I see BD. BDs music is not innovative. Only their approach to visual is. Crown is not innovative in visual but certainly are with the music. Have you heard 7 bassdrum and 15 timpani played all around the field? And there arrangements are pretty innovative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowtown Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 But yeah, I love the OP questions, what should I look for, what makes this show so great? Help me out here, edgeamkate me I’ve only dipped my toe in the Blue Devil debate as I liked their music and wasn’t bothered by their winning as I would not have Crown above them. But after last night, well…they are getting the benefit of many memes that just don’t hold up for me a few being 1. 'You have to understand the show concept to get the awesomeness of their show' – but I get their show concept, I really do. I was well aware of Dada long ago but always preferred Futurism. Dada was a bunch of talentless, trust fund hipsters making social commentary in the guise of art. It was dependent upon context more than skill. The Blue Devils take on Dada is fine and they commit to it but not really liking the show doesn’t mean I don’t understand Dada or vice versa. I think I have better ways to convey Dada in a d/c show and that they kind of missed a bit 2. 'Every time I see this show I find something new, it's so deep'. I don’t. In fact the more I see this show the less I like it, it’s completely superficial and decorative. They really nailed the pointless of Dada. Oh look, a coat hanger, again 3. 'Their visual is state of the art...it's new' – yeah, not buying that, many of the things in their show we’ve seen from them before. I really don’t get how running around a clothes hanger is state of the art. Likewise, getting dressed from under amour vs. getting undress into under amour doesn’t strike me as anything special or new – I don’t think that worked for Bluecoats either 4. 'they do it better than anyone else' – this will be blasphemy but I’m not so sure. They marched cleaner last year. The walk through their forms and their forms never really lock in…I heard a lot of dirt out of their snare line (and saw the stick drop at an impact) and after Crown, their brass sounded crass. I also notice some foot timing issues. Where I did see their excellence was upper carriage and horn angles, is that enough? For the Blue Devils, this show is not that clean Off point but another point – I feel there is an agenda or blinders on DCI because I think Blue Knight are being scored too high for what they are producing on the field too. I don’t think the judges know how to judge this stuff or they are pushing corps towards a visual direction and just throwing points at this trend Overall, I really don’t care much, I'm not sussed or anything, it’s just opinion. I feel it’s a down year for a lot of corps and shame on them for not stepping up and taking it from BD. In my view of the sheets, I’d have Regiment and Cadets on top, BD in third and Crown in 4th (slop at finals is bad design), as they have the most complete, well done shows but even those have issues and don’t really scream championship – so by default, Congrats Blue Devils 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Glad I wasn't the only one who noticed. BK has approached drill writing and visual like BD. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecoats88 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 After seeing everyone in Allentown I had a feeling BK was going to pass Spirit. Spirit has a good show, but BK has a better one and have finally cleaned it up enough for it to be readable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellodramatic Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Sorry, but you couldn't be more wrong. It's impressive that the performers can lead an audience member to believe that though. By primary direction changes I mean forward to backward technique. Maybe it was just my view from the theater, but I saw a lot of them looking like studs doing drill written with easier direction changes in mind. That's good show design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamMan Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 BDs music is not innovative. Only their approach to visual is. Crown is not innovative in visual but certainly are with the music. Have you heard 7 bassdrum and 15 timpani played all around the field? And there arrangements are pretty innovative. SCV spread drums around the field 20 years ago (1992). And yes, Klesch and Hannum are amazing, but I don't see these books as any different than previous years'. I prefer Thom's writing for Madison, actually. But yeah, I love the OP questions, what should I look for, what makes this show so great? Help me out here, edgeamkate me I’ve only dipped my toe in the Blue Devil debate as I liked their music and wasn’t bothered by their winning as I would not have Crown above them. But after last night, well…they are getting the benefit of many memes that just don’t hold up for me a few being 1. 'You have to understand the show concept to get the awesomeness of their show' – but I get their show concept, I really do. I was well aware of Dada long ago but always preferred Futurism. Dada was a bunch of talentless, trust fund hipsters making social commentary in the guise of art. It was dependent upon context more than skill. The Blue Devils take on Dada is fine and they commit to it but not really liking the show doesn’t mean I don’t understand Dada or vice versa. I think I have better ways to convey Dada in a d/c show and that they kind of missed a bit 2. 'Every time I see this show I find something new, it's so deep'. I don’t. In fact the more I see this show the less I like it, it’s completely superficial and decorative. They really nailed the pointless of Dada. Oh look, a coat hanger, again 3. 'Their visual is state of the art...it's new' – yeah, not buying that, many of the things in their show we’ve seen from them before. I really don’t get how running around a clothes hanger is state of the art. Likewise, getting dressed from under amour vs. getting undress into under amour doesn’t strike me as anything special or new – I don’t think that worked for Bluecoats either 4. 'they do it better than anyone else' – this will be blasphemy but I’m not so sure. They marched cleaner last year. The walk through their forms and their forms never really lock in…I heard a lot of dirt out of their snare line (and saw the stick drop at an impact) and after Crown, their brass sounded crass. I also notice some foot timing issues. Where I did see their excellence was upper carriage and horn angles, is that enough? For the Blue Devils, this show is not that clean Off point but another point – I feel there is an agenda or blinders on DCI because I think Blue Knight are being scored too high for what they are producing on the field too. I don’t think the judges know how to judge this stuff or they are pushing corps towards a visual direction and just throwing points at this trend Overall, I really don’t care much, I'm not sussed or anything, it’s just opinion. I feel it’s a down year for a lot of corps and shame on them for not stepping up and taking it from BD. In my view of the sheets, I’d have Regiment and Cadets on top, BD in third and Crown in 4th (slop at finals is bad design), as they have the most complete, well done shows but even those have issues and don’t really scream championship – so by default, Congrats Blue Devils 1. What better ideas do you have than the BD design staff? Will drum corps fans still like those ideas in a show? I wish more people would discuss things like design changes without flaming shows. I feel like this would make for a great thread. 2. "They really nailed the pointless of Dada." So, you agree they're doing a good job? 3. What IS "state-of-the-art"? 4. "I heard a lot of dirt out of their snare line" I heard a lot of "OH MY GOD ARE SERIOUSLY PLAYING THAT CLEAN AND TOGETHER?!" All together, it averages out to being the best. And their pit blew Crown's to tiny, tiny pieces. And seeing as pit's part of the percussion score, you can see how they're first by 0.2. I like their brass sound compared to Crown's. Crown's is too...orchestral. It just bores me. I want loud and in-you-face. Maybe that's why I prefer funk and latin jazz to brass quartets. "Where I did see their excellence was upper carriage and horn angles, is that enough?" It's way better than a lot of corps out that and really adds to their visual score when you don't see people sway because of a direction change. I feel you in your recap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catan Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Can you elaborate a little on what BD has been doing the last few years that is so innovative? Honest question, no sarcasm or hater attitude. I've asked it before here on DCP, and no one seems to know the answer (judging purely from the responses). It's almost as if someone said that their shows have been game changers, and everyone else just repeats that blindly without ever saying or realizing why. This is just my opinion, but BD's approach to visual design a completely different direction this year (though 2008-2011 had elements of it). More emphasis on staging over drill formation/transition and more highlighting of individual performance as opposed to ensemble drill effect. Whereas as Crown (and pretty much every other DCI corps today) gets its effect from ensemble impact and progression, much of BD's effectiveness from a design standpoint comes from the performance of the individuals. While some may not like this new approach to design (though I do), it's definitely different. Musically, I wouldn't say they are as "innovative" per say, but I think BD's use of electronics definitely is ahead of the curve - the use of voice as a musical element in particular. BD also makes outstanding use of directional playing to create a certain ambiance during parts of their show (beginning of ballad and ending buildup in particular). Additionally, BD doesn't follow a formal "opener-drum break-ballad-closer" format (though not all corps do), but instead maintains a continuous musical book with no real breaks, just gradual ups and downs, climaxes and valleys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mokumi Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I, for one, am glad that the Blue Devils aren't court jesters who will do anything/say anything to please the audience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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