NakedEye Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Can you please give me some more things to notice (I'm being serious). I started appreciating the show more tonight but I still feel I'm missing a lot. I haven't really had time to watch closely enough to see everything either, but some points that have stood out to me so far are: The massed flag statement in the back near the beginning (and how they grab and extend the silk in part of it). They are staged on and around the "prop forest" and it is such a dense shape that it perfectly reflects the musical moment it is paired with, where the low brass comes in for the first time. It's also cool because many of them are positioned at different heights, so the toss at the end looks very unusual. The pair work during the ballad. They are all frozen at the beginning of it and you get a real sense of the variety of characters and emotions they are portraying by the poses they are in. The girl carrying the umbrella, trailing behind the limping/lumbering "everyman' guy on the platform. She moves with this incredibly precise, very slow and deliberate circling brush step motion. Really intriguing and artistic to watch. Crazy hard rifle work by the guys during the Be Italian section. Everyone is busy watching the girls with the tambourines and hair, and meanwhile the guys are killing it. The ribbons used by the girls in the front. This seems sort of silly at first glance, until you listen to the sort of staccato runs the brass is doing right then, and realize how perfectly the flowing ribbons and how they are moving them illustrate the sound. How the weapon work is used as punctuation/emphasis for numerous musical moments. It can seem like it is not making a lot of sense until you suddenly hear some buried nuance in the music that the rifles or sabers were just bringing to the forefront. Some other corps do this, but not as well as BD. In the last big push, where the brass is turned backfield with a powerful entrance, the flags do NOT throw the very expected big toss, but instead strip the flag, extend both arms out and very dramatically stride backward while projecting upward. It is another of those "something out of nothing" moments, is contrary to what the conventional thinking would be for that musical phrase, and incredibly effective due to the confidence of their performance. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FanLib Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I am no expert in Fellini movies but IMO to not be risqué would have been fundamentally uncharacteristic to this show considering the source material. My opinion is it would have been equally effective without showing as much skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Just got back to the hotel. Really enjoyed tonight's show. Bluecoats were easily the fan favorites, and the closing of the show saw the crowd erupt! All that aside, I thought they played really well tonight. Percussion was smoking hot and brass were also incredible. Obviously I love both corps, but I really walked out thinking BLOOOO beat Cadets tonight. Much better showing than in Massillon. Cadets were good but not at that super high level, and the end of show changes are still too cheesy for me. That aside I still love 95% of this show. The Blue Devils were unreal on so many levels I simply don't have time to detail it right now. One of my favorite shows this year. A.short review coming in the morning. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 My opinion is it would have been equally effective without showing as much skin. But would not be nearly as fun to watch. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardlyrob Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I see 5 ageouts for Phantom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardlyrob Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 I asked a PR kid when I was with them on tour if they would do a run for the ageouts. He said that's kind of tough with 55 ageouts. I think there are a bunch of rookouts in PR. Lots of rookies doesn't mean a young corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) I see 5 ageouts for Phantom. A Facebook pic of Regiment's age-outs: Edited August 9, 2014 by Kamarag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marianne Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Did they announce the WC Jim Jones Leadership award? I heard them say it goes to one WC and one OC member, and they focused on the Open class recipient, but I never heard them announce the World Class recipient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 ...and the Kentucky Southern Accent is very different than the accent we hear. I found myself wondering if Casper was even around during Mary Todd Lincoln's lifetime, but checking Wikipedia reveals that it was given that name in 1865, and she lived until 1882. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannedforlife Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) My opinion is it would have been equally effective without showing as much skin. At this point I would say that you are letting a subtle detail detract from what is consistently one of the most incredible colorguards in the activity. For example, I personally do not like Cadets cheesy jingoistic show this year, but you have to admit they perform the hell out of it. Calling it vanilla and overly patriotic might be true, but that's not the criteria the judges are basing their decisions off of. I sympathetize with your perspective that it should have the same effect without showing so much skin, but while you are sitting at your day job scrolling through emails these performers are showing much less skin in grueling heat to clean and perfect their show for 12-16 hours a day. Where were you for Rach Star when Crowns guard was literally supposed to be Rock Star groupies? Or 2009 BAC where the guard literally depicted temptresses of a forbidden fruit? Those are thematic elements that are far more risqué in my opinion. BD's guard implementing uniforms that reflect a golden era of film is a much deeper conceptual enterprise than flat out relying on sex appeal, which I get the impression you are trying to make this about. According to your principles on an average day in an average setting, your comment retains validity. What I hope you understand is the conceptual depth of their thematic material reaches far beyond the skin they show, and I hope you can set aside your preconceived notions and appreciate the immensely rich product BD's guard performers have brought to the field this season. Edited August 9, 2014 by Bannedforlife 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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