JustinDMoore Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) They do seem pretty strong in all areas. Minus the show design (which I don't oppose), the beginning to the season for them takes me back to 2011 when they came out swinging. Edit: Typo.. meant 2011 angels and demons Edited June 11, 2014 by JustinDMoore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acolli17 Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Let me preface this by saying I am not, nor have I ever pretended to be, an expert. I'm a music education grad who marched two years, but I don't know much about designing and creating a drum corps show. I just wanted to share my thoughts. Please don't hate me. I just watched what they have so far, and... I dunno... Musically, it's clean, it's just busy. There's so much going on, with so many melodies overlapping, I just got overwhelmed by trying to catch all of it. Many times, I caught myself focusing more on where I heard the last melody, and less on the actual show. I guess that's kind of how I feel about the show in general. I've never been opposed to narration, 2005 and 2007 were some of my favorite shows, and I think they were as effective than as Crown was last year. I loved the sound clips from WSS in 2009, and I LOVED the Christmas clips in 2012 (that was my favorite show that year). But I think narration is dangerous, as it can be as much of a hindrance as an enhancer. I found myself while listening, so many times, trying to jump back and forth between the narration and the music, I felt like I didn't really catch either. The narration reminded me a lot of 2008. Actually the whole show reminded me a lot of 2008. I mean the last movement, you have Copland's Our Town, Appalachian Spring, and I'm pretty sure I heard at least two other things. It's honestly genius that they're able to combine that many elements and keep it from sounding like a mess. But it's just information overload. And then they hit the ending, with just a clear presentation of Appalachian Spring, and IT'S AMAZING!! I absolutely love the ending, I just wish more parts of it were as straightforward as that. I thought the stage at the front was incredibly distracting. When the marching member is up there mimicking the narration, I thought it was pretty cheesy. It again reminded me of 2008, with the kids sitting on the stage in the middle, they were just kind of a distraction, in my opinion. Please don't hate me, and please don't think I dislike the Cadets. I was supposed to have marched with them, I just had an injury that withheld me from it. I have loved their shows recently, and stood up for them and their design when those around me criticized it. They sound and look amazing, but I feel like the design takes away from the credit they should be getting for the product they're putting out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crownisking Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) It's replaying right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_fVL_sBOaA Edited June 11, 2014 by crownisking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exitmusic Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 the entire middle is incredibly forgettable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotorCityMusician Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 the entire middle is incredibly forgettable that and i ended up watching the stage thinking stuff was going to happen. Cant remember drill or music. But its June they have almost exactly 2 months to change my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 Let me preface this by saying I am not, nor have I ever pretended to be, an expert. I'm a music education grad who marched two years, but I don't know much about designing and creating a drum corps show. I just wanted to share my thoughts. Please don't hate me. I just watched what they have so far, and... I dunno... Musically, it's clean, it's just busy. There's so much going on, with so many melodies overlapping, I just got overwhelmed by trying to catch all of it. Many times, I caught myself focusing more on where I heard the last melody, and less on the actual show. I guess that's kind of how I feel about the show in general. I've never been opposed to narration, 2005 and 2007 were some of my favorite shows, and I think they were as effective than as Crown was last year. I loved the sound clips from WSS in 2009, and I LOVED the Christmas clips in 2012 (that was my favorite show that year). But I think narration is dangerous, as it can be as much of a hindrance as an enhancer. I found myself while listening, so many times, trying to jump back and forth between the narration and the music, I felt like I didn't really catch either. The narration reminded me a lot of 2008. Actually the whole show reminded me a lot of 2008. I mean the last movement, you have Copland's Our Town, Appalachian Spring, and I'm pretty sure I heard at least two other things. It's honestly genius that they're able to combine that many elements and keep it from sounding like a mess. But it's just information overload. And then they hit the ending, with just a clear presentation of Appalachian Spring, and IT'S AMAZING!! I absolutely love the ending, I just wish more parts of it were as straightforward as that. I thought the stage at the front was incredibly distracting. When the marching member is up there mimicking the narration, I thought it was pretty cheesy. It again reminded me of 2008, with the kids sitting on the stage in the middle, they were just kind of a distraction, in my opinion. Please don't hate me, and please don't think I dislike the Cadets. I was supposed to have marched with them, I just had an injury that withheld me from it. I have loved their shows recently, and stood up for them and their design when those around me criticized it. They sound and look amazing, but I feel like the design takes away from the credit they should be getting for the product they're putting out. I hate to say it, but I COMPLETELY agree with this post. I can't believe this is coming from me, but I am not impressed with this show. It doesn't really do anything for me. Yes, it's June. But so far, I can see this show ending up in 6th place. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 the entire middle is incredibly forgettable This. The opener and closer really caught me with those huge impacts and memorable tunes but the middle is all a blur and lackluster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughesmr Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) It's actually a pretty good show --- that stage is a major distraction, though, and I don't see the need for it to pull off the focus on speaker/guard/etc that uses it. The narrator has the voice for it ... thank God ... so tired of 'pipsqueak' voices over the past years. They can kill the voices right at the opening of the show, though -- certainly doesn't set up anything either musically or emotionally that follows. Drumline is rockin' ... any rumors of weakness due to youth certainly aren't showing up to my ears. Love the middle brass ensemble sound, esp during the backfield stuff. The only thing notable about the french horn solo was how out of tune it was. Good luck with that all summer ... those things are hard enough to play in tune under controlled climate conditions. Edited June 11, 2014 by hughesmr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NakedEye Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I think I would probably love this show without the stage and narration, and I'm not at all anti-narration in a general sense. I thought Crown used it extremely effectively last year, in a very integrated fashion, where the music enhanced the words and the words enhanced the music. Here it seems like the music would be just fine on its own. The approach seems like a combination of the 2008 and 2012 efforts, with a bit more polish, and I have to admit to being really irritated near the end. DO NOT talk or play white noise sound clips over APPALACHIAN SPRING. It's like a dagger through my heart, man! There must be more planned for the stage, but at this point it sets up a dual-focus situation. If the dancing on it mirrored or somehow related to the movement on the field, I would get the concept, but instead they seemed like separate entities. Where are you supposed to look? I find the choices so bewildering, and it sucks because the music is great and the kids are performing at such a really high level already! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crownisking Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I wonder why they chose to drape the DM podiums. On a windy day, those things just might sail away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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