RogerF Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Too many props. I can't wait till it starts raining on field, or the prop truck breaks down on the way to Indy. Too much singing and electronics. That little percussion feature was interesting though I have to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 You might need to get used to people calling Crown's pants blue. People are a bit too lazy to call it turquoise Maybe we should make "SOA Blue" a thing this summer to refer to the color of Crown's pants. Gotcha. That's kinda sad though, but you're probably right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brichtimp Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Initial reactions to the Crown preview: Love the brass sound and percussion seems stronger this year. Perhaps too many seconds of brass resting while battery plays truck mufflers or guard dances. Feet need a lot of polishing. Nice use of Paul Lovatt Cooper brass band arrangements. Need to hear the ballad again to get the intended emotion. Overall, some cool concepts for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallace Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 The muffler section is screaming for some stick tricks to make it more compelling. Maybe some moving from spot to spot a la Cadets 2000? The notes are there but it needs a little more than dance movement to make it memorable. You want that to be a rock star moment. It needs flash! Now...not so much. Battery is miles ahead of last year. Pit is as good as last year's version. Brass was fun! NOTES! Ha! Wow! We are going to have another battle on our hands this year! I'm excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Perhaps too many seconds of brass resting while battery plays truck mufflers or guard dances.Ditto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 After watching BD, CAD, and CC, each of them still have a lot of "cards" in their hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so here is mine: When I watched the Cadets 2011 preview, I had the feeling they would win. When I watched Crown's first performance last season, I felt like they had that "it factor". I wanted to feel that again with this year's preview, but I just didn't. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it didn't leave that "this just might win" feeling with me like those mentioned above did. This show will be competitive & a crowd pleaser, but I really don't believe this will be our 2014 DCI World Championship show. I'd love for them to prove me wrong, though! That was my feeling as well. This show seems like it will be a tougher sell compared with last year. I did not feel the storyline or get as much emotional satisfaction as last year. Obviously, it is very early and this corps is loaded with the talent and brains to take this far. Best of luck on the journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin. Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) brichtimp, on 16 Jun 2014 - 05:25 AM, said: Perhaps too many seconds of brass resting while battery plays truck mufflers or guard dances. Ditto. This is the section where the low brass is trading out their instruments for trumpets. Couldn't see it on the feed. Edited June 16, 2014 by Kevin. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbeau Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Crown horn line will be awesome again, no surprise. Opening statement has last years E=mc2 feel. I also felt the prolonged battery features and found myself waiting for more brass. Battery seems tight and I liked the muffler sound. I agree with Doc that this show may be a harder sell than the last 2 years. With all that I will probably be yelling "Bravo" in 8 weeks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Whoever is designing Drum Corps costumes should just stop. Stop with the bad colors, stop with oversized shakos that make the corp members look like little kids wearing a hat that is way to big for them, stop with the tight pants that show tthe guys junk. Just stop. Please stop wearing costumes & return to uniforms. Please. Great horn line though... I politely disagree with you here. I love what Crown did. The modern activity needs to push design (color scheme, uni design, style of show, etc.) in order to further define and learn what the limits are. This sort of theatrical presentation is exactly what will draw new fans. Not just brass and percussion students from school bands, but dancers, singers, artists, actors, and in general students that love theater or any type of collective and collaborative art form. I very much liked the days of straight-ahead brass and drums, and traditional marching design (whatever your definition of that is?), but I have no desire to move backwards and relive the past. Drum corps has never done that anyway. It's always been evolving whether people like to believe that or not. Many of the old uniform designs were throwbacks to drum corps' military roots, and many high school and college bands are still that way. I think it's time we move beyond that. It's one thing when your high school or college band is wearing their school colors and play school songs, and basically just trying to entertain and cheer on the masses. It's another when the goal is to showcase the best of the marching art form, which I have always believed the role of the drum corps. We've seen many corps have great shows, even great theme shows and great stories. Cadets WSS in 1984, 94, 2009; SCV's Russian Show in 1987 or Phantom of the Opera in 1988/89; Star of Indiana's Roman Images show of 1991; Phantom Regiment in 2008, Cadets Angels and Demons in 2011; and on and on. All of these had wonderful themes or stories, or they were lose thematic designs with impressionistic overtones. It's nice to see this concept go further. The Cadets explored a little of this with a bi-tonal look in 2011. The Blue Devils have been tweaking their uniforms for several years now in order to enhance the design and look of their shows. Star of Indiana completely reworked their uniform in 1991 for that Roman Images show. And now Crown is overhauling theirs for the sake of a modern space exploration theme. I think they got it right. Additionally, I was getting SO TIRED of seeing every corps go to BLACK pants. Everything was becoming dark. Dark, dark, dark. All I'd hear is "it hides the dirt." I want to see the leg movement, I don't want it to be hidden. Black is great for some designs, but for Crown this turquoise is amazing and draws attention to the legs, helping to emphasize movement. Those hats draw attention to the top of the body, and their playing stuns your senses with awesome sounds and excellent music. I'm not wild about everything in the show just yet, but I'd give it a BIG thumbs up after last night. If BD or Cadets don't bring something really good to the table (and I hear they are), this Crown show will repeat. I don't think anyone else has a shot other than BD and Cadets. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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