victorcoly Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Hi all..... It's been awhile since I've posted.... Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the 2014 season!! Lots of great shows on the field this season!!! Very innovative programs and also programs that are truly beyond our years!!! Who would have thought any corps would do some nifty percussion-related stuff on car mufflers? Or that "tilting" a field would garner such a HUGE crowd reaction!!! How about that Don Ellis music still pertinent after all of these years!!! Swan Lake.... still fits that Rockford based group very well!!! The "Green Machine" fast becoming the machine again in 2014!!! Copland.... still tugs at your heart when FHNSAB cranks out those chords!!!Lest we forget to mention the competitive nature of our activity..... Yes, to an overwhelming majority - current members, alumni, and fans alike - those scores still matter.Unfortunately, gone are the days where the likes of Dr. Bernie Baggs, Rod Goodhart, Paul Wojtena, Dave Lorenzi, Shirlee Whitcomb, Judy Tomko and a host of others truly cared about being accurate about those scores they placed on a sheet. Gone are the days when folks like Karson Klund, Dallas Niermeyer, Gene Monterastelli, and Bill Doyle called a spade a spade and their score reflected the actual quality of a groups performance of a particular day or night.Gone are the days when any unit could score higher than another "particular" unit after a certain point during the season. Not only in overall score, but in the various captions as well.I still love the activity and seeing the young people involved push themselves to new limits. Unfortunately those charged with evaluating them, and those in charge of those evaluating them have lost the ability of distinguishing mediocrity from excellence on any given day. No matter if it's June 23rd, or August 9th!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMcomguy Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) ... Edited July 14, 2014 by IMcomguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorcoly Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 IMcomguy.... You have no doubt how accurate you are mentioning those three letters.... W. G. I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RContra Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) Having read the new sheets plenty of times, I still completely fail to see how the Bluecoats aren't crushing everyone in GE. They're generally hit or miss with me, and this year is about as big of a HIT as I've experienced in this activity. Crown was the logical ruler of that caption last year, and I understood why (and freaking loved it). What am I missing here? Communication? Vocabulary? Achievement? Simultaneous responsibilities? Uniformity? Musicality in visual design? Cohesive package? Demand? Check. Or do they just need to put on the BD uniform and claim that caption? Devs are ahead of them in some performance captions and deservedly so. They're phenomenal, and I'm really loving their product. I suppose I just need to understand that big 'un of a caption that is General Effect a little better. Can anyone help? Edited July 14, 2014 by RContra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Otto Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Hi all..... It's been awhile since I've posted.... Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the 2014 season!! Lots of great shows on the field this season!!! Very innovative programs and also programs that are truly beyond our years!!! Who would have thought any corps would do some nifty percussion-related stuff on car mufflers? Or that "tilting" a field would garner such a HUGE crowd reaction!!! How about that Don Ellis music still pertinent after all of these years!!! Swan Lake.... still fits that Rockford based group very well!!! The "Green Machine" fast becoming the machine again in 2014!!! Copland.... still tugs at your heart when FHNSAB cranks out those chords!!! Lest we forget to mention the competitive nature of our activity..... Yes, to an overwhelming majority - current members, alumni, and fans alike - those scores still matter. Unfortunately, gone are the days where the likes of Dr. Bernie Baggs, Rod Goodhart, Paul Wojtena, Dave Lorenzi, Shirlee Whitcomb, Judy Tomko and a host of others truly cared about being accurate about those scores they placed on a sheet. Gone are the days when folks like Karson Klund, Dallas Niermeyer, Gene Monterastelli, and Bill Doyle called a spade a spade and their score reflected the actual quality of a groups performance of a particular day or night. Gone are the days when any unit could score higher than another "particular" unit after a certain point during the season. Not only in overall score, but in the various captions as well. I still love the activity and seeing the young people involved push themselves to new limits. Unfortunately those charged with evaluating them, and those in charge of those evaluating them have lost the ability of distinguishing mediocrity from excellence on any given day. No matter if it's June 23rd, or August 9th!! AMEN!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorcoly Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Having read the new sheets plenty of times, I still completely fail to see how the Bluecoats aren't crushing everyone in GE. They're generally hit or miss with me, and this year is about as big of a HIT as I've experienced in this activity. Crown was the logical ruler of that caption last year, and I understood why (and freaking loved it). What am I missing here? Communication? Vocabulary? Achievement? Simultaneous responsibilities? Uniformity? Musicality in visual design? Cohesive package? Demand? Check. Or do they just need to put on the BD uniform and claim that caption? Devs are ahead of them in some performance captions and deservedly so. They're phenomenal, and I'm really loving their product. I suppose I just need to understand that big 'un of a caption that is General Effect a little better. Can anyone help? Plus the GE sheets contain the words, "engage the audience," and "audience engagement." Can't figure out how multiple standing "O's" during any corps show isn't "eganging" the audience, while the shows getting "golf claps" is at low Box 5..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTNK Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 tl;dr: Subjective activity is subjective. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Otto Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I like going to the events. I have a son marching in Bluecoats this year. He is having a great time. A really entertaining show. Usually we leave the event after the last group performs to see him in the lot. The outcome really does not matter to us. He is getting a great education on so many levels. Having been a part of the activity since 1976 I have seen so many changes. Even when I was teaching in DCI in the 90's the activity was moving forward faster and faster. The education is on all levels as I mentioned earlier. Another reason we try to be in the lot during the scores. When we were attending the East Coast shows I think everyone had the same approach - and not just Bluecoats parents. I have former students in a lot of groups or teaching a lot of groups. Nice to see that as well. Still have some friends out there as well. At times, after hearing the outcomes in the lot, it is hard to bite my tongue having been writing shows since 81 to present in most of the circuits including DCI and DCA. But I am playing band dad this summer. HA!! Good Luck - Go BLOOOOO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drillwatcher Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Hi all..... It's been awhile since I've posted.... Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the 2014 season!! Lots of great shows on the field this season!!! Very innovative programs and also programs that are truly beyond our years!!! Who would have thought any corps would do some nifty percussion-related stuff on car mufflers? Or that "tilting" a field would garner such a HUGE crowd reaction!!! How about that Don Ellis music still pertinent after all of these years!!! Swan Lake.... still fits that Rockford based group very well!!! The "Green Machine" fast becoming the machine again in 2014!!! Copland.... still tugs at your heart when FHNSAB cranks out those chords!!! Lest we forget to mention the competitive nature of our activity..... Yes, to an overwhelming majority - current members, alumni, and fans alike - those scores still matter. Unfortunately, gone are the days where the likes of Dr. Bernie Baggs, Rod Goodhart, Paul Wojtena, Dave Lorenzi, Shirlee Whitcomb, Judy Tomko and a host of others truly cared about being accurate about those scores they placed on a sheet. Gone are the days when folks like Karson Klund, Dallas Niermeyer, Gene Monterastelli, and Bill Doyle called a spade a spade and their score reflected the actual quality of a groups performance of a particular day or night. Gone are the days when any unit could score higher than another "particular" unit after a certain point during the season. Not only in overall score, but in the various captions as well. I still love the activity and seeing the young people involved push themselves to new limits. Unfortunately those charged with evaluating them, and those in charge of those evaluating them have lost the ability of distinguishing mediocrity from excellence on any given day. No matter if it's June 23rd, or August 9th!! A huge factor is the WGI influence. The Blue Devils staff is very influential in the winter guard idiom and the entire visual panel from both the Denver and Lacrosse panel wish to continue judging winter guards, as do all the caption heads. I have been told if you are out of the perceived norm at a WGI show you are required to do a inquisition type conference. This leads to tight spreads, politically safe placements and often a less accessible show to the paying audience. It also counteracts the concept that on any given day team A can beat team b,c,or d or vice versa. Change the judge leadership from the Artistic Director down, make caption heads be from outside the WGI activity or at least most of them and actually make the activity what it has previously been, a fair youth activity designed to entertain the public. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drillwatcher Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Read this and can it be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.