My thoughts

[Northern Thunder]

My one negative sitting in the theater after viewing all the crowd shots - drum corps fans as an aggregate need to lose some weight. Holy cow, if we do not take better care of ourselves, there will be very few fans over the age of 60.

I don't think DCI had this in mind when they talk about increasing the size of its audience.

[ShortAndFast]

The funniest thing of the night. Watching program directors explain the meaning of their shows. And most shows I didn't care about the theme of the show but did enjoy the performance.

These often come off pretty bad. I'm always shocked the designers can't find anything more candid and interesting to say about their shows.

The two strong ones this year, I thought, were Colin McNutt for Cadets in the Akron broadcast and Michael Klesch for Crown last night. Both were excellent representatives of their corps and made me more interested in what I was about to see.

[KC4Bloo]

"Oh, and I really like the Rite of Spring, but Stravinsly is spinning in his grave right now after they butchered his masterpiece"

You do realize they are not playing the Rite of Spring .... they are playing Brenzel's/Sebesky's jazz arrangements of the Rite of Spring.

I did not know that. Thanks. Knowledge is power.

Although the BD version is not my cup of tea--SO much happening on the field for my feeble brain to take in--I was struck by a comment a friend made after--that the actual Rite of Spring work was not an audience favorite when it premiered 100 years ago--many were incensed and walked out of the theater.

So I did a bit of research from which I have gleaned that Stravinsky would perhaps love the Blue Devils' take. Here is a bit of what I've found on the reception it received from audiences and critics- as well as an explanation of its origin--

One source reads: Though it is one of Stravinsky's most famous works, his creation was first met with harsh criticism, negative reviews, and yes - a riot.

From wiki:

In his 1936 autobiography (Stravinsky) described the origin of the work thus: "One day [in 1910], when I was finishing the last pages of L'Oiseau de Feu in St Petersburg, I had a fleeting vision ... I saw in my imagination a solemn pagan rite: sage elders seated in a circle, watching a young girl dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to propitiate the god of Spring."

Among the more hostile press reviews was that of critic Henri Quittard who called the work "a laborious and puerile(silly) barbarity" and added "We are sorry to see an artist such as M. Stravinsky involve himself in this disconcerting adventure".

The composer Puccini…described the choreography as ridiculous and the music cacophonous—"the work of a madman. The public hissed, laughed – and applauded."

The New York Times highlighted the bad reception of "The consecration of spring" by Igor Stravinsky as performed by the Russian Ballet in Paris here: http://en.wikipedia...._1913-06-07.png

The passage of time has done little to soften eerily similar criticism the 2013 show is drawing, huh?

I now have a greater appreciation of this surprisingly controversial show and will try to enjoy it more. It's just so exhausting. Having said that I don't believe these talented young people who are doing a spectacular job performing what the Blue Devils staff has envisioned for them deserve the jeers and derisive talk I'm hearing and seeing. Booing is never good.

On the other hand, I'm all for BLOOING.

[Tekneek]

Let's keep this in mind. All that talk about Stravisnky was about him, not about the performers who played it. When we talk bad about a show on the field, it isn't about the performers. It's about the show itself. Those people who get all bent about us saying something bad about the kids need to learn to separate criticism about the product away from criticism about the performers. Even the best performers in the world can't rescue an unappealing product, and we all get to accept that.

Sometimes, looking back, we can see it in a different light and appreciate it more, but that doesn't mean we will appreciate it when it is happening. Just like Star of Indiana's 1993 show was an abomination to a lot of people at the time, but now I believe it is seen with an entirely different perspective. This is ok. It is the way things work. We get to accept it because it is reality.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Tekneek

[Zeke]

WTF moment, And when rondo spoke on Cavies shows "secret societies and one of the terms used was Grand Wizard when talking about leaders of secret societies. You could almost hear the inside of his head saying "#### I didn't mean to say that".

And Folks WE HAVE A WINNER!!!Classic can't turn back moments. I have to say it's the unexpected from Dennis and Rondo that make going to the Cinecast's at the theater just that much more interesting. LOL

Edited August 9, 2013 by Zeke

[7567BC]

March Madison or Cavies.

Dan

Or any other corps except Phantom? And Cavies & Madison, don't allow females at all. It IS sexist, but they have the right to be as a private organizations. Now if they recieve any public fundng at all, there could be an issue.

[7567BC]

Why? ....because it is on the sheets. It's called multiple responsibilities. It is a way of rewarding units that challenge their members to perform in different and challenging environments, weather it is a difficult listening environment due to staging, encorporating body underneath the playing or what have you. I tell you what, even in my youth I could never have done what these kids are doing now. They are true musical athletes.

Dan

Please explain how some of that unecessary body movement actually is "challenging" the MM ability to play? It for the most part looks silly and I doubt the designers put it all in as a way to enhance the challenge of a show. Granted there are many ways to have MM's move and play that enhance a production, but the amount of lunging and squatting in particular, don't acheive all that. I also find it humerous after seeing so much of it from so many corps how these enhancements all occur willy nilly throughout the productions.

[ApathyJones]

Completely agree. The narration before the Abyss soundtrack hit is so corny!

People in the theater I was in in were actually laughing and making fun of the narration. It really does completely screw over what is in actuality a very cool piece of music.

[7567BC]

Saw the show last night in a theater in Myrtle Beach. Nice sized, enthusiastic crowd. Applause for every corps. I have not seen any drum corps this summer other than a few Youtube moments, so these are my first impressions. I am too old to be negative, so I will stick with what I liked.

PC - very enjoyable way to start the night. Great sound, nice looking corps.

Troopers - Reminded me way I first starting liking drum corps more than 35 years ago. Great show. Sun burst goose bumps.

Crossmen - as in many years in the past, a foot tapping musical book. Loved the arrangements.

Blue Stars - well designed show. The drum line was smoking in my opinion, probably under scored. The finalist corps seem pretty well set from what I saw.

Spirit - Great sound and a fun show.

Blue Knights - Loved this show, everything about it. The music and visual worked well together. The ending, which I guess was new, really worked. I would not be surprised if they moved up a placement.

Boston - I wondered what came first, the bombing or the show theme. I assume the show was well along in design before April. Whatever, I found the show engaging with a pretty emotional tug. The revelation of the red uniform top brought quite a reaction from the crowd in the theater. Very well done Boston.

Madison - Drum corps is better when Madison is good. Great moment when the camera showed people in the crowd standing and singing.

Cavaliers - The hand wringing from earlier this summer can stop. The Cavies performed very well last night and the G7 should be intact come Saturday.

Bluecoats - I really enjoyed their musical selections, sound and look. Just an all around solid drum corps that seems to bring it every year.

Phantom - I would like to give a shout out to Don Hill's arrangements. Beautiful music. The classic Phantom look was there. Another solid top six drum corps.

SCV - I will use this line again (paraphrased), drum corps is better when SCV is challenging at the top. Anyone who was introduced to drum corps in the mid-70s loves the Vanguard. Their show was a joy to watch and listen to - recognizable music and classic visuals. A tip of the hat to the mellophone soloist who is playing without a net in the closer, beautiful. Thank you.

Cadets - Incredible show. The demand is off the charts. I loved this show and would not mind seeing it win on Saturday. The horns, drums and guard all perform at a level I could not imagine just a few years ago. I thought the ending was simply great.

Crown - home state favorite for those in the theater. I would not mind if they win on Saturday. Everything about this show is cool. This is a corps I had seen on Youtube and I always figured the talking was recorded. New found respect when I realized most of it was performed live. Carolina Crown did SC proud.

Blue Devils - Every year they push the design envelope and find kids who can perform the show perfectly. What a great drum and bugle corps. I was mesmerized by this show and wish I was in Indianapolis to watch it live all three nights. Someone in the theater complained that they do not move - I am not sure what show he was watching, because they appeared to be moving quite well from my vantage point. A third corps that I would not mind seeing win Saturday night (I have no bias against any of the three).

For those attending the show Saturday night, you are the lucky ones. What a great top twelve you will see. The top four are possibly the best top four ever. The top three could end up with a half point of each other - put their names in a hat and pull out a winner, you will probably get it right.

The theater experience was worth the money spent. The video and audio were top notch. The three announcers did well. The field interviews were fun. The backstage shots were cool.

My one negative sitting in the theater after viewing all the crowd shots - drum corps fans as an aggregate need to lose some weight. Holy cow, if we do not take better care of ourselves, there will be very few fans over the age of 60.

BAC's show was all schemed out and pretty wrapped up by the time of the marathon bombing in Boston. That was mid April and BAC move in was only a month or so later. I agree with you on BD. I found their show the most interesting. I guess I don't like all the narration I feel I get as I think if you have to lay the entire show out, you aren't really making it interesting enough for me. I like to sit, watch and listen and enjoy. I also agree tha whomever think BD doesn't move isn't watching. They are moving and at ridiculous speeds for what they are playing. I would be interested in knowing if anyone has timed all corps to see how much park and blow each does. I would guess they are all not too far apart in time of movement and non movement. To me the corps that had the most movement was SCV. It didn't feel like they stopped at all. I also like Blue Knights. What pleasant surprise. Nice job on First Circle. Least favorite was Blue Stars.

[skywhopper]

"Oh, and I really like the Rite of Spring, but Stravinsly is spinning in his grave right now after they butchered his masterpiece"

You do realize they are not playing the Rite of Spring .... they are playing Brenzel's/Sebesky's jazz arrangements of the Rite of Spring.

Well... they are playing all three. Some sections are straight out of Rite of Spring. And Rewrite is very faithful to the original, just arranged in a jazz idiom. I think Stravinsky would have enjoyed it.