tesmusic Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Crown and cadets don't do absurd things as often as BD does. Crown had annoying elements to their show last year that bordered on absurdity. BD's shows from the last 6 years are so esoteric that they are absurd to the common fan. 2012's dada show was designed to be absurd. And #######, just look at 2014's guard uniforms :x So Burt Bacharach is esoteric? Wow. And as for the guard uniforms, did you see Cavaliers 2004. The BD 2014 is not the first time uniforms like that have been used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theCHEZman Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 This is my favorite BD show since 2011. Yes, all their shows since 2008 have been from a similar model of "weird, esoteric, odd" but it was novel and it was rewarded by judges so why not explore that well until it runs dry? I still believe their success this year is due to an incredible performance level, not the demand of the show. It's well constructed, performed extremely well already and has a few demanding moments but it is not overall a demanding show nor does it need to be to win. The years of running and gunning are behind us for now anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tesmusic Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 I agree theCHEZman that it's the best since 2011. The ballad is gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c.l. Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 So Burt Bacharach is esoteric? Wow. And as for the guard uniforms, did you see Cavaliers 2004. The BD 2014 is not the first time uniforms like that have been used. Edit: Cavaliers 2003. 2004 was just fine with the tuxes, IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c.l. Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 This is my favorite BD show since 2011. Yes, all their shows since 2008 have been from a similar model of "weird, esoteric, odd" but it was novel and it was rewarded by judges so why not explore that well until it runs dry? I still believe their success this year is due to an incredible performance level, not the demand of the show. It's well constructed, performed extremely well already and has a few demanding moments but it is not overall a demanding show nor does it need to be to win. The years of running and gunning are behind us for now anyway. 2008 layed the groundwork for the current BD program model, but it also had a huge crowd response on Finals night. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDA16 Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 As far as the dancer in the ballad is concerned, I've heard of a Fellini movie(can't remember the name) where they are showing a wedding, and as this wedding is going on the camera suddenly pans to follow a clown leaving the wedding. Fellini had an obsession with clowns. I'm guessing the dancer isn't depicting a drunkard or a marionette, but a sad or broken clown who is unable to experience love or other similar emotions that are being communicated in a story going on beside him with the guard. And though there is this big moment happening, he's chosen to be the focus instead. Sounds felliniesque to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brutus Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 (edited) How is this year's show absurd, or last year's, or the year before, or the year before that? Please explain. Kids are playing, marching, spinning, there's some props, sometimes narration. So then what Crown, the Cadets, etc. are doing must also be absurd then, right? I think the word you're looking for is abstract. Some of the Blue Devils' shows are so abstract that no one can agree on what they mean. No one is moved. There is no collective audience response. No shared emotion. There's not even agreement among the members about the production and what it means. In the Rite of Spring, you could hear the silence as the audience's brains overheated. You could see the shrugging. You could feel the corps digging itself a grave of confusion. Felliniesque has some abstract elements, but keeps them in check by using the framework of an homage to Fellini. It's grounded in images from the films. We get it. We get the pattern. At the end, we pay homage to Fellini by presenting a chair to him. There's just enough expository grounding to keep us connected to the music, and focused on what happens next. In Cadet's show last year, we had huge red refrigerators that "defined the space." That's too abstract. There was no pattern, no game. Nothing to get. It would have been easy to fix, without words even, but they didn't. There was no dramatic action. I'm not talking about words, I'm talking about "game." In Cadets show Angels and Demons, the game was crystal clear and freaking brilliant. We got the pattern. We understood the game and became involved in it. The test of abstraction is indicated by audience applause. If the applause is light, they're not moved, it's too abstract. They don't get it. There's no game. They don't see the pattern. They can't predict what happens next and disconnect from the production. Edited July 1, 2014 by Brutus 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flammaster Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 I love that they have added an abstract element to drum corps. I don't find any "meaning" in it at all. Nor should I. It's just an entertaining show with great music. If you don't like it watch something else. A few things I really like is there is no narration, no stupid move the knees in different positions and also they don't have trombones but I wouldn't care if they did have trombones. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaos001 Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 BD Guard Uniform Well, well, well...that's a meaty tuck. Yes, it's been a while since I've checked this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 The uniform looks much better in action. I have to grant them that - I was 100% wrong about it when I first saw the photos. Also, finally sat down last night, put on the headphones and listened to the preseason standstill recording. I think this show is a lot more "mainstream" musically than recent BD. That's good. The ballad is lovely, and the circus and waltz stuff is sneaky hard - you can easily forget how *fast* all of their stuff is. Also watched the high-cam vid they just posted on MediaBox. Without being able to focus on close-ups from a multi cam, the drill definitely has some "huh?" moments. I love the 3 long ranks in the drum feature, and how the horn box in the ballad expands then bends around to meet the soloist on the front sideline. That was a nice "old school" touch. I think once they clean the numerous, numerous spinning cirles in the drill, it will really start to click. I didn't find the tables too distracting, but I do feel the spotlights and ladders add absolutely nothing from up above. Honestly, if they weren't there, you wouldn't notice. It's also a shame there isn't a more subtle way to move the tables, but white is white - what can you do? Wish they could flip them over or something so they don't stand out while in motion. Finally, they spend a *lot* of time behind the guard - it stood out. A couple of the drum solos were taking place either at midfield or on the back hash, and that was kind of strange. And it felt like the drill wasn't really written in places with the music in mind - where the music, especially near the end, got louder and more intense, the drill didn't. It just kind of meandered along, and felt slow. That might be a feature of programming - I'm sure they weren't marching slow, but the forms were slow to develop. That also may be something that evolves over the season. Overall, I like the show, and may even love it before it's done. "Film" is easy to project to an audience, and even "Fellini" isn't too rough. I know nothing about his films, but I could guess what the various parts were all about, even if I don't know the specifics of every nuance. I'm looking forward to seeing them at the big shows, with better cameras and sound. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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