justafan Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Bluecoats - This is a fine drum corps show that means absolutely nothing. When the guy jumps at the end, it's completely without meaning or context. Is it good or bad? Is he committing suicide or bungee jumping? Just meaningless prop-hugging without thematic argument. A real shoulder shrugger with music that's fun to listen to. That this show can be garnering such high general effect is a sign that judges are anxious to make up for past years' scores. This year's show is completely without structure, and proves that some people watch a show for the music and are willing to completely ignore the other design trappings that provide a through line to the show. They just don't get it. Don't hand me the garbage that the music is enough, because it just isn't. It can be enough, but it isn't enough here. There's no meaning here. There's no depth. No emotion. No transformation. No inner battle. No game. Brutus, you have been baggin' this show all season with your pretentious pseudo-intellectual bullcrap. I saw my first drum corps show in 1969 and fell in love with the genre because of the precision, power and pageantry - the unique sounds and images that only exist here. I don't have any desire to do any research to make sure I understand the full "meaning" of a show. We have a great season going on and I have enjoyed all of the corps I have seen both live and on Fan Network. I love how clean the Blue Devils are, I love to watch the Cadets march and I love Crown's lush brass sound, SCV's drums and Phantom's guard. But I love the Bluecoat's show most of all because feeds my drum corps fix better than any other show this year. It puts a smile on my face, makes me stand up and yell and want to watch it again. And, from the two shows I went to this year and the vast majority of the posts here, people get it just fine. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Sorry, not trying to fight either. It is just that as a retired teacher, "ranking" suggests to me, a preconceived judgement, or if you prefer, a skewed bias based on those rankings either positive or negative depending on where you were ranked, whether you consciously realize it or not. Will this ranking have a negative effect on the Troopers, or OC, or whomever placed lower than previously placed? We will see. Thank you for indulging me and spending you time and effort in educating me. I appreciate your goodwill and patience. how is it a preconceived judgment? in any judged competition, you judge the units as they come to you. Especially in a situation when the OC corps are going head to head with WC corps for the first time you cant have a preconceived notion. Furthermore, over the course of the season, multiple units at the top have won percussion. In fact just last week BD beat SCV in percussion...with Jeff as the judge. Yet yesterday, he has SCV up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brutus Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Brutus, you have been baggin' this show all season with your pretentious pseudo-intellectual bullcrap. I saw my first drum corps show in 1969 and fell in love with the genre because of the precision, power and pageantry - the unique sounds and images that only exist here. I don't have any desire to do any research to make sure I understand the full "meaning" of a show. We have a great season going on and I have enjoyed all of the corps I have seen both live and on Fan Network. I love how clean the Blue Devils are, I love to watch the Cadets march and I love Crown's lush brass sound, SCV's drums and Phantom's guard. But I love the Bluecoat's show most of all because feeds my drum corps fix better than any other show this year. It puts a smile on my face, makes me stand up and yell and want to watch it again. And, from the two shows I went to this year and the vast majority of the posts here, people get it just fine. I'll try to speak your language. When the guy jumps, what's it mean? What does it feel like to you? How does it fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris ncsu Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 To a great extent, it's a relative scoring system. You give the first corps a number that hopefully gives them credit for book and achievement, where perhaps a 100 is "perfect". Then each corps after that, you have to decide at the end of the performance if it overall was better or worse than previous corps, itemized by substance and achievement. Then you figure out how much better or worse, and that's where you get your scores. Without something to compare it to, any individual score value is mostly meaningless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 . Boston Crusaders - What a gutsy, professional show. Couldn't tell who was who, or why, or what the dramatic action is, but it contained some thematic elements from the original story that were recognizable, sort of. What is BAC saying about their love of this story? Their love of anarchy, or politics, or social persuasion and class? We don't know. By George, I think she's[he/you/we] got it....it's OPEN to personal interpretation... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liahona Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Well, he judged at Allentown last week and had Troopers over many of the lines he had them under last night, so maybe they DID have a bad run...at least where he was physically located at the time. Mike This is what I really LOVE about percussion judges...they are never afraid to give the number that is "WHAT THE SEE AND HEAR" for a specific performance IMO...rather than following rank and file and numbers management principles including looking at numbers from a previous night which I've personally witnessed but will not name any names on here... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortAndFast Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 This is what I really LOVE about percussion judges...they are never afraid to give the number that is "WHAT THE SEE AND HEAR" for a specific performance IMO...rather than following rank and file and numbers management principles including looking at numbers from a previous night which I've personally witnessed but will not name any names on here... There's hasn't been a lot of discussion of it, but Prosperie was also willing to call Boston in 6th place, Crown in 8th place, and Colts in 21st place. It's obvious the guy was making the calls he saw on the field, not following a preconceived notion or the performance order. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackroberts Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I'll try to speak your language. When the guy jumps, what's it mean? What does it feel like to you? How does it fit? Wow. There is absolutely no need for snark. All opinions and viewpoints are equally valid, which is something you seem to have forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesleyrp Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 (edited) The theater in SA was mostly empty and awesomely loud! Missed Spirit due to traffic. Colts- not shocked at their score or improvement. Brass and perc sounded amazing! Great job, most improved corps this year Troop- Best Troop Ever- great performance and is how patriotic shows should be:) so many great corps this year Crossmen- add me to those surprised and so happy at their rise this season. Major staff changes after missing finals could've spelled doom but they are likely to be in finals with a well performed and conceived show. Great music Madison- top 8 talent with a show that honestly with lower talent would fall out of finals. Nothing develops... They perform well no doubt though BStars- amazing show construction and the execution has caught up. Really enjoyed them a lot BAC- colleague of mine is on the staff and I was honest when I said early season I thought the show was too disjointed and way too hard. I was wrong... They're selling it now and the music is really popping! I feel they'll finish 9th above BStars but it won't matter cause both corps are fantastic Phantom- same as Madison- top level talent that wasn't given the vehicle to thrive. That said they are great musically and execute what they have well BK- I honestly didn't know how they'd sound next to Phantom.... I was blown away. I've said before, we've all lost someone special and this show evokes such powerful memories I had of my dad and his love for music and my music career! Just amazing BK Cavies- truly nice to see them back in the top 6. Well deserved... I love their baritone line. Great senority Crown- whenever it places I don't care- it's phenomenal. Though I do wish they'd get their perc to the brass level... SCV- 2014 Scheherazade is amazing... I don't listen to it compared to 04. The visual package Im gonna need to move 2 brass soloist backfield or wont be able to get them back to sections without being awkward....means 1st solo on mello is stunning and whether done before musically it doesn't matter- great show Bluecoats- hands down most innovative use of sound devices and electronics to supplement the show. The music and show is stand alone but the electronics add so much more depth. Way to go! Cadets- I appreciate the execution and talent, but the show to me is not as emotional or thought provoking as Troop. Why do Cadets do narration so badly? BD- thank you BD for finding the balancing between quirky and fun. This show is not the most entertaining program on the field but it's greatly entertaining. They make this activity look so easy, it's sickening! Wow- amazing show and execution Wes Edited August 8, 2014 by wesleyrp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRapp Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Brutus, you have been baggin' this show all season with your pretentious pseudo-intellectual bullcrap. I saw my first drum corps show in 1969 and fell in love with the genre because of the precision, power and pageantry - the unique sounds and images that only exist here. I don't have any desire to do any research to make sure I understand the full "meaning" of a show. We have a great season going on and I have enjoyed all of the corps I have seen both live and on Fan Network. I love how clean the Blue Devils are, I love to watch the Cadets march and I love Crown's lush brass sound, SCV's drums and Phantom's guard. But I love the Bluecoat's show most of all because feeds my drum corps fix better than any other show this year. It puts a smile on my face, makes me stand up and yell and want to watch it again. And, from the two shows I went to this year and the vast majority of the posts here, people get it just fine. To me, the Bluecoats' show is a modern version of Frameworks. It celebrates what is the most unique aspects of a corps at its best and purest. Frameworks said, hey, we are going to take what makes the basic elements of music and dance, and show you how we interpret that. We're going to start somewhere and finish somewhere else, based on that starting point. They aren't trying to tell you that Tilt is anything more than that, and in fact they are asking you to just sit and consider nothing more than that for a dozen minutes. It is a fun ride, and they assume you get that that is their message. Bluecoats not only did that in an innovative and truly modern way, they are schooling most of the corps in the sheer basics of playing corps music! If that's not deep enough for you, that's cool. I love the thematic shows as much as anyone, maybe more. But if you don't like Tilt because it doesn't have an overall "meaning," or you don't see a thread, you have to at least tip your hat to their playing. Because holy heck, they are killing it every single night. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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