Why Aren't Crowd Reactions Like They Used to be?

[Ciphertanget]

Just listening to shows past, and crowd reactions are just so much more energetic and emotional than those of today's shows. What's with that?

[Stu]

Just listening to shows past, and crowd reactions are just so much more energetic and emotional than those of today's shows. What's with that?

Disagree; crowds have gone very wild each and every year. Here are a few 'recent' examples:

2012: Crown - Fanfare for the Common Man (roar from the stands)

2011: Madison Scouts - Empire State of Mind (many babies tossed)

2010: Cavaliers - This is my Rifle (crowd yells louder than the corps)

2009: SCV - Ballet for Martha (for the Simple Gifts section)

2008: Regiment - Spartacus (crowd goes BALSTIC especially when announced as grand champion).

[Michael Boo]

Just listening to shows past, and crowd reactions are just so much more energetic and emotional than those of today's shows. What's with that?

I think crowd reactions are quite loud and instantaneous these days, as witnessed by the video snippets accompanying a project I recently completed.

I believe the perspective of our memories changes with time. I remember the snow being worse when I was a kid, the Christmas windows in downtown Chicago being better, the pop music artists being more distinctive from each other, and I'm pretty sure I was thinner and had thicker Dennis DeLucia-like hair.

It's possible that a greater use of on-field subtleties encourages audiences to get more intellectually involved in the shows and react with more "ooooos" and "ahhhhs" than sporadic yelling, but I still witness a lot of loud screaming from those around me.

In an age when kids have so many more distractions, I'm glad there are still some who are willing to give up their summers and much of the rest of their year to continue to give us indelible memories that elicit all sorts of reactions, enthusiastic and emotional.

[mynwa418]

Disagree; crowds have gone very wild each and every year. Here are a few 'recent' examples:

2012: Crown - Fanfare for the Common Man (roar from the stands)

2011: Madison Scouts - Empire State of Mind (many babies tossed)

2010: Cavaliers - This is my Rifle (crowd yells louder than the corps)

2009: SCV - Ballet for Martha (for the Simple Gifts section)

2008: Regiment - Spartacus (crowd goes BALSTIC especially when announced as grand champion).

May I add,

2012: Madison Scouts - Great Gate company front rotation until the end (standing O for a good minute and a half)

[Jeff Ream]

Just listening to shows past, and crowd reactions are just so much more energetic and emotional than those of today's shows. What's with that?

Design. Shows now are more fluid continual moving productions, where in the past, each song had it's own release point to let everyone exhale.

[Michael Boo]

Design. Shows now are more fluid continual moving productions, where in the past, each song had it's own release point to let everyone exhale.

You really hit on something here. In the distant past, there were a number of individual productions, each with a starting and ending point. Then there were several seconds of dead space for the audience to react. For the most part, that doesn't happen any more. Today, instead of the equivalent of watching several film shorts set to music, we watch each corps present a full-length feature. Generally, the applause comes at the end more than in between productions, which more often than not, tend to blend into one another.

It's neither good nor bad...it's just the way it is.

[Michael Boo]

Disagree; crowds have gone very wild each and every year. Here are a few 'recent' examples:

2012: Crown - Fanfare for the Common Man (roar from the stands)

2011: Madison Scouts - Empire State of Mind (many babies tossed)

2010: Cavaliers - This is my Rifle (crowd yells louder than the corps)

2009: SCV - Ballet for Martha (for the Simple Gifts section)

2008: Regiment - Spartacus (crowd goes BALLISTIC especially when announced as grand champion).

All great examples to make your point.

[3rd Glasgow BB]

Even in the lower placings in 2012......

Jersey Surf - The crowd went crazy at the end of their show

Colts - Old school closer, old school sop solo, crowd loved it.

[RockyGranite]

Last season's Crossmen....when they did the Maltese Cross in San Antonio...got a lot of noise out of the crowd.

But I agree with Jeff and Michael. Changes in design and a couple of greats examples that come to mind are the BK and BD shows.

[JimF-LowBari]

You really hit on something here. In the distant past, there were a number of individual productions, each with a starting and ending point. Then there were several seconds of dead space for the audience to react. For the most part, that doesn't happen any more. Today, instead of the equivalent of watching several film shorts set to music, we watch each corps present a full-length feature. Generally, the applause comes at the end more than in between productions, which more often than not, tend to blend into one another.It's neither good nor bad...it's just the way it is.

Yep to Mike and Jeff.... some places feel I want to applaud more but it would interfere with the next part of the music. And BITD designers were more apt to go for the loud and emotional than the gentle and subtle. Still get emotional but at not as many places as in the past.