Bannedforlife Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 One last thing I noticed while studying the recaps. Visual is all over the place IMO. Cavies and BAC hovering around 6-7 is a #### shame considering these things: Cavies park and bark a lot. And I'm not talking long parks, but more like a dog in a park that stops every few seconds to bark then goes to pee on something else. Frequency of halts not length of them. The few sections with aggressive tempos lasted too brief to amount to anything impressive. Step sizes with their technique isn't an issue so I'm amazed I don't see more between 8 to 5 and jazz runs. As usual Cavies will depend on their GE scores and smoke and mirror drill writing to give the impression their visual package is scintillating. That being said, the marimba thing is cool and their drill is relatively complex and intricate. BAC's drill was remarkably clean for how dirty the writing is IMO. Another poster mentioned some of the dirt comes from guard members integrated into the drill, and I would add to that by saying that too much of the visual ensemble was doing the same thing at the same time and I would have liked to see more contrast. Overall I liked their show but the step sizes and tempos were so lame I got bored with the drill very quickly. That being said, writing issues aside, they have solid technique and execution of the drill that set them apart from any corps that performed before them. Blue Stars MUCH improved since LaCrosse. The end didn't do it for me before but this time the star popped perfectly and was a very moving moment. At first I wasn't sure what the tarps were all about but now that they have the labels describing different rooms of the house the whole show makes perfect sense. Finally time they take out Madison's unimpressive visual package. Other notables were Madisons clean but once again boring drill, and BK getting tossed under the bus at 11th in GE which to me was horse crap because their visual package was very moving in conjunction with the music. Definitely the best visual I've seen from BK in years. I like that Cadets has more classic drill this year. Last couple years I get the impression there has been a little too much visual innovation for classic Cadets fans to appreciate. Crown needs a week or two more two discover whether or not they need 2 more months to clean the drill. What could happen is it gets clean and the clutter can turn into the organized chaos I have come to love from Crowns visual package. What I can say is I saw them live in Minneapolis last year and I wasn't as concerned about the clutter and I know other posters have voiced similar opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 George Dixon's sig block says: "Amplification in drum corps is like trampolines in the high jump." but after the talk about Crown's Trampolines, i thought it might become: "Trampolines in drum corps is like amplification in the high jump." Funny. But that's my signature not George's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hughesmr Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) You are surprised that Crown won brass? Wow. No surprise here. Crown clearly has tthe best horn line. No one is close. Crown does have the best hornline in DCI. Just not tonight. Edited July 20, 2014 by hughesmr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Other Mike Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Cadets- how can a corps be the original crew to do narration and suck at it so bad! Crowd didn't care for Cadets and say on their hands! I appreciate the musicianship displayed but this show is just boring. narrator a huge distraction and covers up the front portion of the field I must agree with you. The voice over is a horridness distraction. I don't need such a cheesy lecture on history. Maybe because I'm old ? Little Geoffery ruined THAT show and the narration ruins this one. Maybe if there was no stage and the voiceover just came from the pit ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelloMatt Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Well, if DCI would ever deign to put that one on the Fan Network, maybe some of us would get to see it. I'll bet most people on DCP never have, and since they can't even if they want to, for all intents and purposes it doesn't exist. I know where to get an MP3. PM me for the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slingerland Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Suncoast probably deserved to finish ahead of Garfield, and maybe even Cavaliers, but a horrific prelims run put the kibosh on that. In '86? Not a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brutus Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) I think Cadets show incorporates too many voices. Too many historical quotes from too many great figures. It's like Lincoln, Kennedy, Roosevelt, Cher and former head of NBC Brandon Tartikoff. Too much. It's really hard to integrate all these voices into a cohesive 12 minute show based on the Lincoln Portrait. The narration feels separate, not integrated. Meanwhile the on-field show is as crisp and passionate as it absolutely can be. Edited July 20, 2014 by Brutus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfirwin3 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 The Bluecoats percussion remains the paradox of the season for me. This outcome, plus all other reads from the season tells me that there is a tie from 1st through 5th place (maybe further) in this caption. It's been terribly inconsistent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brichtimp Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) i thought of Francis McBeth when i heard BC tonight. the pyramid voicing. he was one of my teachers and i never forgot the first demo he did with a clinic band. the corps is really hungry and they're not from the city of Charles Ives for nothing. this show has stuff Zappa would envy, Ives would embrace, Mahler would dig, and Hollywood could use. no wonder so many people don't get the show. Interesting.....BC has a strong Bass horn line for sure, and I think of an interview with Gene Pokorny.....Chicago Symphony tuba, who spoke about the Pyramid of sound principles he learned in high school from Benton Minor...a legendary wind band educator in Southern California. To watch Minor clinic a high school band and hear how much better they sounded in an hour (intonation and blend of tone and balance) was magical. Edited July 20, 2014 by brichtimp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emc2 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) I can't keep track of which judge is supposed to be biased against which corps, and would love it if someone would take the time to compile the statistics to show that judge X, on average for some period of years, systematically ranks corps Y a given number of places below what they're awarded by other judges. There are judges that have a track record / trends over the years of dumping Boston. Three were their tonight. Dose not matter what type of show they do. BAC has done a different type of show over the past several years. If those scores were in line with the others. Their placement would of been higher. IMO why is there not info/bio's on these people when they list the judges PNL for the show. Edited July 20, 2014 by emc2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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