tim_brandt Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Solid. But I think Bluecoats is the winner. It will be tough to take them down on August 4th in Massillon. Right as they enter the home stretch. Here are a few times that I felt strongly that an early season show would take home the gold the first time that I saw it : - '96 Phantom Regiment - '08 Phantom Regiment - '13 Carolina Crown - '14 Bluecoats Times I felt that way & was wrong : - '12 Carolina Crown My guess is BD / Cadets / possibly Crown change leads all season w/ 'Coats hanging 3rd / 4th, and they surge in through championship week to take the gold, carried on audience momentum. I think that this is their year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfirwin3 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Here are a few times that I felt strongly that an early season show would take home the gold the first time that I saw it : - '96 Phantom Regiment - '08 Phantom Regiment - '13 Carolina Crown - '14 Bluecoats Times I felt that way & was wrong : - '12 Carolina Crown My guess is BD / Cadets / possibly Crown change leads all season w/ 'Coats hanging 3rd / 4th, and they surge in through championship week to take the gold, carried on audience momentum. I think that this is their year. You may be right. It would be nice. There are a lot of discussions about hornline quality... Ott awards... and whatnot going on in the forum. But this show has enough written difficulty, beauty, balance of ensemble focus... even a good healthy balance of electronics. Crown and Devils certainly are ripping some great horn parts... but I don't think that it matters that much. All of the finalists are going to be ripping SOME great horn parts. What I notice is that the 'Coats show seems to have a great deal of non-propositional 'purpose' to it. There isn't a story... or a 'line of reason'... progression to the program. But it just seems to progress logically, with momentum and intent. This show reminds me a lot of the 2001 (I think) Four Corners (Cavies) program (great stylistic mix, catchy melodic and ostinato material, and very clever use of the field space). There is a "spatial" purpose to the program that is easy to understand... no "story" needed. I really, really want to know what the judges saw in Akron. It would be nice if they saw what we saw on the first night out. It is a heavy and hard slog to try to "convert" the judges through multiple reads. I hope they don't have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbeatty89 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I know its impossible to determine who is going to come out on top, but this is absolutely the only time I have ever felt the Bluecoats have a legitimate shot at winning. They have a really cool show. I hope they can pull it off. James 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geluf Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Bluecoats design can win this year. It's all going to come down to execution. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NakedEye Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 (edited) What I notice is that the 'Coats show seems to have a great deal of non-propositional 'purpose' to it. There isn't a story... or a 'line of reason'... progression to the program. But it just seems to progress logically, with momentum and intent. This show reminds me a lot of the 2001 (I think) Four Corners (Cavies) program (great stylistic mix, catchy melodic and ostinato material, and very clever use of the field space). There is a "spatial" purpose to the program that is easy to understand... no "story" needed. And this is why it has a very good shot at being successful. The extremely simple ideas are what communicate the best. No matter how good the performers or the writing, the ideas that can be effectively conveyed to an audience by musicians and flag spinners are limited. You can project happy, sad, angry and unsettled emotions. You can illustrate short words and phrases such as Machine, Red, Dada, 1930, Absurdity, Angels/Demons, Spin Cycle, Horses, 007, Mirrors/Glass etc. By taking one brief idea and hitting people over the head with it in numerous creative interpretations, audiences go crazy. They feel like they are in on the joke and keep "discovering" new variations. Great fun for all. TILT is perfect for this. People are going to flip over it all season. Those that muddle the idea too much usually end up missing the mark. Crown was notorious for this during their rise with the Second Chance, Greener, and Superhero shows that were technically brilliant, but tried really, really hard to tell a somewhat convoluted storyline that the staff understood well, but didn't necessarily provide "eureka" moments from the audience without some guidance to what to think about/look for. In 2013 they finally nailed it by paring back the show to just...Einstein and Einstein on the Beach. There was filler in there, but they overall kept a very narrow focus and it worked wonders. This year's Space thing strikes me as more of the 2012 and prior thinking. Blast off, meeting aliens or something, homesick, take me home. That's a lot to figure out and digest from people in turquoise pants. If they had just fixated on the one word "gravity," think about all the fun that would be: heavy/vs. light movements, rebounding off other individuals, barriers, etc. There would be less head scratching. Bluecoats certainly look to have the right vehicle. If they clean it, look out. Edited June 23, 2014 by NakedEye 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2muchcoffeeman Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 (edited) The extremely simple ideas are what communicate the best. Those that muddle the idea too much usually end up missing the mark. Totally agree. Clarity, clarity, clarity. Not only in the execution, but especially in the idea. It is exceedingly difficult to attain. But if you can get an idea across, you are communicating, which is deeper than mere performance and observation. The whole point of music and dance is communication. Edited June 23, 2014 by 2muchcoffeeman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfirwin3 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Bluecoats design can win this year. It's all going to come down to execution. And you have to admit. This is where the problem is likely to be. The 'Coats have taken some pretty hard blows on execution lately... particularly in field visual... feet... technique. There has been a lot of guff over the past couple years over the style of marching that they use (I'm not sure that all of it was warranted... but we won't get into that). Hopefully that doesn't muddy the judging sheets for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craiga Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 And you have to admit. This is where the problem is likely to be. The 'Coats have taken some pretty hard blows on execution lately... particularly in field visual... feet... technique. There has been a lot of guff over the past couple years over the style of marching that they use (I'm not sure that all of it was warranted... but we won't get into that). Hopefully that doesn't muddy the judging sheets for them. I predict that they'll change their technique back to conventional sooner rather than later. Their last two visual shows were held back by that horrrendous toe-step, in what was otherwise two great visual designs. As proof, check out the first 45 seconds of the 2013 dvd....they look great! But, after the intro, that toe/step flat-footed approach really takes it's toll.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfirwin3 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Off topic... it seems as though a lot of old "soundmachine" posters have moved over here. I was CFI BLOO over there years ago. Good to see some of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfirwin3 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I predict that they'll change their technique back to conventional sooner rather than later. Their last two visual shows were held back by that horrrendous toe-step, in what was otherwise two great visual designs. As proof, check out the first 45 seconds of the 2013 dvd....they look great! But, after the intro, that toe/step flat-footed approach really takes it's toll.... Can anyone confirm if they are still doing this? I didn't mind it, personally... but it really got on some nerves out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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