Bluecoats 2013

skywhopper · July 1, 2013

I see a deeper version, more impressionist style, of 1991 Cadets. Instead of doing a kind of Music History Americana, it is more "suggested" as opposed to "stated."

This is just one dinosaur's opinion.

And you nailed it. :thumbup:

corpsband · July 1, 2013

Uniforms: Thought I would hate it (the drawings were awful, guys and gals). On the field, though, it looks bad a s s :)

Thought I would hate the back BUT there's some nifty white piping along the bottom of the jacket that creates a visual break. I still think they look shorter backwards than frontwards but it's not so noticeable as to be annoying. The front of the uniform is very sharp.

Edited July 1, 2013 by corpsband

AutumnLeaves12 · July 1, 2013

I am a recent Bloo vet with a brother still in the corps, so I have seen the development and tried to grasp what is going on in this show since day one. When I started seeing the early finished product I started asking myself, "what comes to mind when I think of America, as a society and an experience"... Not what I see the most from media, not the patriotism, just what comes to mind when I think about my life and what it has been like living in America and the experiences around me.

All of our opinions on what the show theme is and isn't are subjective, but I will list some of my ideas below. Some might say that the show is too vague and that the theme and title don't match up, but I challenge you to think a bit deeper.

1. I think the opening moments of the show aren't vague at all, you can sense the Americana in the parade march, the melodic and harmonic flow, the guard in the bleachers along with that beautiful impact point and resolution. But watch again, when the corps splits up and goes to the four corners of the field. You hear the "Agnus Dei" (lamb of god) and "Hallelujah" (praise the lord) vocals through the pit while the horns move to all four corners by sections, each playing a different classic American folk tune. This sort of shows you the diversification of America as everyone separates, and you get a hint of the religious tradition in America from the pit (primarily Christian, making sense of the vocals).

2. Watch this video of "City Life" put to a minimalism art project.

(just a few minutes is all you need to watch to understand the point). The fast paced, re-acquiring scenes of traffic, the subway, the people moving through the busy streets... The life of an inner-city American in the workforce. Everything is always moving, repeating itself, becoming a routine day in and day out. You can even see it in the drill, watch a YouTube video of the show as the mello's literally SPRINT across the front of the field while the bari/euphs play the melody. It is the way that many of us live our lives in America. This is my take on this part of the show :)

3. The ballad portion of the show with the winds on the bleachers is and has been the most confusing part of the show for me... Not necessarily the music itself, but the visual representation. I don't quite understand the guard work and the purpose of the picnic blankets, at least in relation to the harmony toward the end (the horns end on a powerful minor chord while the guard roles around on the blankets). Anyone have some thoughts about this section to help others understand more?

4. The carnival part with "Spring" by Ellington is a real fun and cool part of the show I think. It is a little corny, in a good way, but also keeps the more serious and intellectual vibe of the show. I love the little carnival ride feeling portrayed in the music when the three soloists play toward the end of the movement!

5. The Bryant piece (Concerto for Wind Ensemble) is great for this product. First off, it's a 21st century contemporary piece (Bluecoat's have been known for using this era source material, e.g. all the Mackey stuff). The hornline melody coming out of the drum feature is fast, violent, and kind of just in your face. This is the darkest moment in the show. To me it depicts more of the militarian side of America, kind of looked at from outside of our little bubble. We control so much in the world, we threaten those with powers we already have and want to ourselves (nuclear weapons for example). I think this part of the show has the potential to make you feel a little uncomfortable while at the same time grooving to the pulse.

6. Toward the end the hornline splits into two blocks on each side of the 50 yard line and then meet at the 50 where the blocks start to dissolve. Listen to the music here! You hear multiple themes from the show, and the harmony is rich and in some instances multi-tonal. This brings back that idea of the melting pot in America. All sorts of different people from different places and with multiple cultural traits. And then BOOM, everyone regroups into the block again and we get a unison melody with rich harmony, all the way until the final major chord and American flag drill (there is your cheesy patriotism!), depicting that regardless of our differences and unique traits, in the end we bind together as one "America".

Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents... Just the way I see the show, and I hope it makes people go back and watch it again with some of these ideas in mind and then formulate their own! :)

DrumManTx · July 1, 2013

I am a recent Bloo vet with a brother still in the corps, so I have seen the development and tried to grasp what is going on in this show since day one. When I started seeing the early finished product I started asking myself, "what comes to mind when I think of America, as a society and an experience"... Not what I see the most from media, not the patriotism, just what comes to mind when I think about my life and what it has been like living in America and the experiences around me.

All of our opinions on what the show theme is and isn't are subjective, but I will list some of my ideas below. Some might say that the show is too vague and that the theme and title don't match up, but I challenge you to think a bit deeper.

1. I think the opening moments of the show aren't vague at all, you can sense the Americana in the parade march, the melodic and harmonic flow, the guard in the bleachers along with that beautiful impact point and resolution. But watch again, when the corps splits up and goes to the four corners of the field. You hear the "Agnus Dei" (lamb of god) and "Hallelujah" (praise the lord) vocals through the pit while the horns move to all four corners by sections, each playing a different classic American folk tune. This sort of shows you the diversification of America as everyone separates, and you get a hint of the religious tradition in America from the pit (primarily Christian, making sense of the vocals).

2. Watch this video of "City Life" put to a minimalism art project.

(just a few minutes is all you need to watch to understand the point). The fast paced, re-acquiring scenes of traffic, the subway, the people moving through the busy streets... The life of an inner-city American in the workforce. Everything is always moving, repeating itself, becoming a routine day in and day out. You can even see it in the drill, watch a YouTube video of the show as the mello's literally SPRINT across the front of the field while the bari/euphs play the melody. It is the way that many of us live our lives in America. This is my take on this part of the show :)
3. The ballad portion of the show with the winds on the bleachers is and has been the most confusing part of the show for me... Not necessarily the music itself, but the visual representation. I don't quite understand the guard work and the purpose of the picnic blankets, at least in relation to the harmony toward the end (the horns end on a powerful minor chord while the guard roles around on the blankets). Anyone have some thoughts about this section to help others understand more?

4. The carnival part with "Spring" by Ellington is a real fun and cool part of the show I think. It is a little corny, in a good way, but also keeps the more serious and intellectual vibe of the show. I love the little carnival ride feeling portrayed in the music when the three soloists play toward the end of the movement!

5. The Bryant piece (Concerto for Wind Ensemble) is great for this product. First off, it's a 21st century contemporary piece (Bluecoat's have been known for using this era source material, e.g. all the Mackey stuff). The hornline melody coming out of the drum feature is fast, violent, and kind of just in your face. This is the darkest moment in the show. To me it depicts more of the militarian side of America, kind of looked at from outside of our little bubble. We control so much in the world, we threaten those with powers we already have and want to ourselves (nuclear weapons for example). I think this part of the show has the potential to make you feel a little uncomfortable while at the same time grooving to the pulse.

6. Toward the end the hornline splits into two blocks on each side of the 50 yard line and then meet at the 50 where the blocks start to dissolve. Listen to the music here! You hear multiple themes from the show, and the harmony is rich and in some instances multi-tonal. This brings back that idea of the melting pot in America. All sorts of different people from different places and with multiple cultural traits. And then BOOM, everyone regroups into the block again and we get a unison melody with rich harmony, all the way until the final major chord and American flag drill (there is your cheesy patriotism!), depicting that regardless of our differences and unique traits, in the end we bind together as one "America".

Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents... Just the way I see the show, and I hope it makes people go back and watch it again with some of these ideas in mind and then formulate their own! :)

Fantastic take on it, and it makes complete sense having just watched the show.

g00fyg00ber · July 1, 2013

I am a recent Bloo vet with a brother still in the corps, so I have seen the development and tried to grasp what is going on in this show since day one. When I started seeing the early finished product I started asking myself, "what comes to mind when I think of America, as a society and an experience"... Not what I see the most from media, not the patriotism, just what comes to mind when I think about my life and what it has been like living in America and the experiences around me.

All of our opinions on what the show theme is and isn't are subjective, but I will list some of my ideas below. Some might say that the show is too vague and that the theme and title don't match up, but I challenge you to think a bit deeper.

1. I think the opening moments of the show aren't vague at all, you can sense the Americana in the parade march, the melodic and harmonic flow, the guard in the bleachers along with that beautiful impact point and resolution. But watch again, when the corps splits up and goes to the four corners of the field. You hear the "Agnus Dei" (lamb of god) and "Hallelujah" (praise the lord) vocals through the pit while the horns move to all four corners by sections, each playing a different classic American folk tune. This sort of shows you the diversification of America as everyone separates, and you get a hint of the religious tradition in America from the pit (primarily Christian, making sense of the vocals).

2. Watch this video of "City Life" put to a minimalism art project.

(just a few minutes is all you need to watch to understand the point). The fast paced, re-acquiring scenes of traffic, the subway, the people moving through the busy streets... The life of an inner-city American in the workforce. Everything is always moving, repeating itself, becoming a routine day in and day out. You can even see it in the drill, watch a YouTube video of the show as the mello's literally SPRINT across the front of the field while the bari/euphs play the melody. It is the way that many of us live our lives in America. This is my take on this part of the show :)
3. The ballad portion of the show with the winds on the bleachers is and has been the most confusing part of the show for me... Not necessarily the music itself, but the visual representation. I don't quite understand the guard work and the purpose of the picnic blankets, at least in relation to the harmony toward the end (the horns end on a powerful minor chord while the guard roles around on the blankets). Anyone have some thoughts about this section to help others understand more?

4. The carnival part with "Spring" by Ellington is a real fun and cool part of the show I think. It is a little corny, in a good way, but also keeps the more serious and intellectual vibe of the show. I love the little carnival ride feeling portrayed in the music when the three soloists play toward the end of the movement!

5. The Bryant piece (Concerto for Wind Ensemble) is great for this product. First off, it's a 21st century contemporary piece (Bluecoat's have been known for using this era source material, e.g. all the Mackey stuff). The hornline melody coming out of the drum feature is fast, violent, and kind of just in your face. This is the darkest moment in the show. To me it depicts more of the militarian side of America, kind of looked at from outside of our little bubble. We control so much in the world, we threaten those with powers we already have and want to ourselves (nuclear weapons for example). I think this part of the show has the potential to make you feel a little uncomfortable while at the same time grooving to the pulse.

6. Toward the end the hornline splits into two blocks on each side of the 50 yard line and then meet at the 50 where the blocks start to dissolve. Listen to the music here! You hear multiple themes from the show, and the harmony is rich and in some instances multi-tonal. This brings back that idea of the melting pot in America. All sorts of different people from different places and with multiple cultural traits. And then BOOM, everyone regroups into the block again and we get a unison melody with rich harmony, all the way until the final major chord and American flag drill (there is your cheesy patriotism!), depicting that regardless of our differences and unique traits, in the end we bind together as one "America".

Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents... Just the way I see the show, and I hope it makes people go back and watch it again with some of these ideas in mind and then formulate their own! :)

You guys are so much smarter than me and I love it. Fantastic view on this show. I don't think I will ever stop appreciating this production. The more I learn about the show the more I pull for my home corps! Thanks for your two cents, very much appreciated.

oldbandguy · July 3, 2013

AutumnLeaves...thanks for your thoughts on the show. I'm sure your brother is enjoying the opportunity to perform it.

I believe "Spring", by Ellington, is the ballad portion of the show and is from a larger work (music for a ballet) called The River. My take on it is the guard, with the blanket props, is a visual portrayal of an old fashioned "concert in the park" down by the river. The corps uses the bleachers like a bandstand or gazebo.

The carnival piece is actually from "Ebony Concerto" by Stravinsky. This is one of his few jazz works that he actually wrote, recorded (and conducted) with the Woody Herman band.

I really like this show as much as any the Bluecoats have ever done.

The design is outstanding and, as usual, Thrower and Rarick have shown why they are among DCI's elite.

Edited July 3, 2013 by oldbandguy

theCHEZman · July 4, 2013

Thanks for some clarification. Most of it I got, but the military perspective I will keep in mind when I rewatch it. Hope your brother is having a great summer!

NewBlueParent · July 6, 2013