ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) Since nothing has been written for this show yet, I figured I'd take a shot. Disclaimers: - This was my first read of all groups. I usually go out of my way not to watch video clips unless its rehearsal/lot stuff. I probably missed A LOT of things. - I'm a brass guy. I used to pretend to be a great visual mind, but that's long passed. - Watched everything with my girlfriend, who's an elite color guard mind. - I was volunteering with one of the earlier groups, so I wasn't able to watch shows until Boston Crusaders. My apologies, and I'll try my best to see shows from all groups that were present. Before I cover La Crosse, here's some observations from my Thursday night in Eden Prairie watching the Blue Devils rehearse and put on a System Blue clinic: - I'm one of the few that like it when BD gets weird. 2010, 2012 and 2013 were some of my favorite shows (2009 bored me to tears, to be fair). A lot of people would say this is a "return to form" and I would agree with them. But they haven't completely abandoned design ideas from their recent years. - The show perfectly captures so much of Fellini's ideas and motifs: life as a circus ... promiscuity ... film as a means of recording dreams ... etc. I love it when BD's members bring a playful energy to their performances. - BD plays a stellar arrangement. I won't bother critiquing performance areas. That being said, it was interesting watching them in a rehearsal setting and seeing mistakes/dirt that normally go unnoticed. - It's not that BD is inherently clean all the time ... it's that they clean the ever-loving #### out of their biggest GE moments and leave zero room for error. The visual staff used gaffer tape on the astro-grass field to set one of the early ballad forms. - As mentioned previously, this rehearsal coincided with a System Blue clinic. Lots of bandos in blue shirts getting their money's worth, including a battery "safari," where one of the drum techs guided the kids through a maze of constantly moving drill. Pretty cool. - With less then 2 minutes to go in the final run, some idiot dad screamed at his son to come down from the bleachers and go home with him. Besides distracting the performance, he pretty thoroughly embarrassed the poor kid. Not sure if he disapproved of the show's racy subject matter ... or if he was angry that his son wasn't playing football ... or if he actually needed to be somewhere around 10 p.m. on a Thursday night ... or if he was more of a Sergio Leone kind-of guy ... Tomorrow: our reviewer actually reviews La Crosse Edited July 18, 2014 by ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 (edited) On to La Crosse ... I lucked and had a friend save seats right on the 50 near the front of the upper deck. The UW-L stadium is great for drum corps and positioned in a very scenic part of the area. Gorgeous, foggy hills provided a nice backdrop to some awesome shows. Boston Crusaders - In all honesty, this was the first BAC show I had seen live in 10 years. I love the direction they're going though. - A show based on a book with zero narration? Sweet. I'm not fundamentally against narration, but it tends to immediately force designers into accommodating it at the cost of music effect. Really glad there wasn't some squeaky-voiced kid voicing Old Major lines. - I'm no WGI expert and have seen very little of stuff that he's worked on, but Michael Lentz seems to have an eye for the inexplicably creepy. The masks, costumes, and flags were great and fit the Orwellian themes very well. - This is a fully realized show. They just need to clean up the performance areas (visual performance especially ... the dark uniforms don't magically hide all dirt). I'm certain none of the corps below them will catch up. I saw Madison in Mankato and that show is fundamentally stunted (I love the music ensemble, but almost every aspect of their visual is dirty/poorly staged beyond repair). I think they're capable of passing Phantom, but time is running out. Cavaliers - I was glad to see a DCI group tackle the Vampire concept. I was even more glad that the Cavalier's "Immortal" didn't feature "My Immortal" by Evanescence (like SF Renegades did in 2007). I hate that song and would sooner drink a bottle of Sambuca than listen to 10 seconds of it. - Another "return to form" show. Better guard and musical staging in drill? Check. Better hornline? CheckCheckCheckCheckCheck. - Early in the show, there's a moment when the early vampire horde attacks a lone hornline member. He gets out by forming a cross with two rifles. I love this, but they should go full-"From Dusk Till Dawn" and have him shoot his way out. - My girlfriend loved the soul-stealing transparent fabric. - Just a fun show with a lot of great musical moments and visual motifs. I think there's more that can be added if they really want to be in the top 3. It's not my favorite show, but it's a leap in the right direction. - Seriously. I hate Evanescence. More to come ... Edited July 15, 2014 by ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 and........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 (edited) ... and ... Honestly, I forgot about this thread. Been a hell of a week. Back to work: Phantom Regiment - The negative things I heard definitely skewed my expectations. The members throw everything they can at this show, however. I was thoroughly impressed by the young hornline: both in music and visual performance. The corps is getting a great deal done in all performance areas. - Visual GE on the other hand ... not good. I'll cut the staff some slack: it seemed like there were transitions and moments that were in the middle of getting changed or worked on (at least based on what friends told me from earlier shows). But that's not a very reassuring thing for this point in the season. - For example, there's the "tube" costume change. Apparently, this was differently and more effective in the early season. It just wasn't engaging when I saw it though. We had already started to see members of the guard dressed in black. What made the tube moment so important? - Another example was near the end. The hornline is in a circular clump playing a big push > followed by all the music cutting out and the form doing some sort of inward ripple > going back into the big push. Very "meh." - Regarding the costume changes through out the show: I don't know what could have been done differently to make it more emotional/eye-catching. I feel like it's a gimmick that takes so much attention from all staff members to plan out. It can be done well, but it usually seems like more work than it's worth. - No "black swan" headgear due to rain from the afternoon. I actually like it better that way. Bluecoats - What can I say that hasn't been said by every DCP fanboy by now? This is what a ####### new school drum corps show is all about. - There's genuine risk to this show. I don't like it when staff people play fast and loose with marching members' health/safety, but I gotta believe the members are having a blast. - The props are ingenious because they're simple, eye-catching, and functional. - The only issue I could find (at least one that would put them several spots behind) would be their battery's performance that specific night. Lots of dirt in some exposed moments. - Even if they finish the year in 4th or 5th place, this show has created legions of new "Bloo" fans. I've not enjoyed a drum corps show from start to finish like this since Clinton was in office. The Cadets - Cleanest show of the night. Probably the cleanest I've seen Cadets in mid-season. - The narrator sells his role fairly well (he better if he's a speech major). I can understand staying true to the Lincoln Portrait and I admire that. But there were still a lot of "That is what he said ..." snickers. - Whatever Jeff Sacktig gets paid, it's not enough. - I've never been a Cadets fan. Every year (except for 2011 ... one of my all-time favorite shows), I feel like there's one design element that's forced in that either doesn't belong, or is executed poorly. 2010 had Little Jeffrey. 2002 had the schmaltzy patriotism. 2006 had ... lots of things. This year, I can't decide. I think narration leads to more design problems than it's worth, but I'm struggling to conceive of an alternative 2014 Cadets show without narration. - I really want to watch this show again. It's incredibly dense and one that I think I might enjoy with more viewings. Carolina Crown - When I was in high school, I competed in a BOA regional that featured a band doing an anime-themed show. When they came onto the field, an army of parents hauled in a giant square trampoline ... kind of like the ones gymnasts use, but much bigger. Me being a monumental nerd, I was over-excited: "Holy crap! An anime show ... WITH TRAMPOLINES!" * ... it was disappointing. The show was ok. The trampoline was used once by one guard member, who didn't do much of anything. Moral of the story: trampolines are dumb and shouldn't be used for this activity (unless an Olympic trampoline gymnast is involved). I understand Crown isn't some Texas marching band and is getting more use out of their equipment, but the risk outweighs the reward. - I really did like this show otherwise. The word that comes to mind whenever I see a Crown show is "cinematic," especially with their intros/openers. The slow, brooding Space Oddity leading into the frantic nature of Interstellar Suite is pretty brilliant. - Whenever I listen to Michael Kletsch's arrangements, I find new moments that force me to realize that I'm an inadequate musician. I won't even get into the all-high brass feature. - The music ensemble should have stuck with the purple pants. I saw way too much individual dirt because of the bright teal. - It's a good show that can still make a late-season push, but it seems that the staff spent the off-season asking the same question over-and-over: "how the hell do we top last year's show?" Maybe I'm wrong and completely out-of-line, but that's the feeling I get. * this quote needs to be said with an obnoxious, teenage lisp Overall thoughts .... - Best use of electronics/synth: Bluecoats - Worst use of electronics/synth: Cavaliers (the balance with the hornline was awful and there were sounds that I haven't heard since my family sold our early-90s Casio) - Once Phantom was ready to go, this is what we heard from the PA: "From Rosemount ...." ... followed one of the loudest audience groans I've ever heard. Brandt Crocker quickly apologized and compensated with an emphatic introduction. - I won't go into placements too much. I'm obviously disappointed Bluecoats weren't higher, but there's still time. Cadets deserved to be on top, at least that night. - It was nice to be in La Crosse for a non-Oktoberfest event, though a little odd to see that many sober people in one place. Edited July 18, 2014 by ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Phantom Regiment - For example, there's the "tube" costume change. Apparently, this was differently and more effective in the early season. It just wasn't engaging when I saw it though. We had already started to see members of the guard dressed in black. What made the tube moment so important? The costume change in the tubes seemed to last forever in the Akron cinema show and, as far as I have seen, has been the same all season long. It's so slow and redundant that there has been speculation that it's merely a placeholder for something more impressive to be added later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 - Even if they finish the year in 4th or 5th place, this show has created legions of new "Bloo" fans. I've not enjoyed a drum corps show from start to finish like this since Clinton was in office. Thank you for a very knowledgeable review. (Got to love any President who was or should be impeached!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammondbrass Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 No review of Blue Stars at their home show? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share Posted July 22, 2014 No review of Blue Stars at their home show? As mentioned in the top post, I was volunteering with another group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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