bgg80 Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I was at DCI West Saturday night. First off, I'll say that I was very impressed by every corps! BDB and SCV Cadets were the best I can ever remember seeing them. mandarins were intense. PC was a good show. BK was extremely creative and unique. Phantom was absolutely entertaining. SCV .... Wow! They have really got a potential monster show! Now ... I've read a lot of chatter about BD, and how their theme and show aren't connecting with the audience, easy drill, etc etc. You can cut and paste the same comments after every year they win. Here's what I'll say: the show is rich, it is powerful, it is fun and the performance level is simply in a higher league (right now). The stands were full of BD and SCV fans and alumni. At least in my area, all the commentary after BD left the field was simply ... Different league. They completely wowed the audience. Seriously wowed. They are that good live. Based on what I've seen from the Cadets and Bluecoats, I don't think this will be a runaway season for BD like 2014. No one will go undefeated. But IMHO, BD has an absolute beast of a show, and they WILL be a major, major favorite to win. And live audiences will absolutely dig the show. Different experience than watching a crappy dci org live stream (for the love of everything DCI ... PLEASE figure this out with some good lawyers.) BD is that good. Jaw dropping good. But I can see 4 corps (BD, SCV, Bloo, Cadets) being in the hunt until the end. This is going to be an amazing season! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarVoyager Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I agree. I find this show VERY entertaining and can listen to just the music book (no drill) and be MORE than satisfied. Just wish my spoon was bigger so I could eat it all UP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeutralNovice Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I agree. I find this show VERY entertaining and can listen to just the music book (no drill) and be MORE than satisfied. Just wish my spoon was bigger so I could eat it all UP. Get a spork instead. Scoop up all you want and pierce an extra piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarVoyager Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 But the spork BREAKS too easily LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photographer Jim Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 (edited) OK - so I'm really liking the show again this year - but unlike last year - I can't follow the theme at all. I'm guessing that the props aren't finished and the guard members running around with fabric will eventually add more to the production. Love the K Pop section. It's cool and super current - just like BD tend to be, Can't wait to see how the show develops and hope to understand the "Ink" theme a bit more - Felliniesque (to me) was super easy to understand) Later, Mike I think you may be correct as to the props and their role in helping make the show theme understandable. In watching the show last night in Sacramento, I was struck by the same two things you mentioned above. It was clear to me that the props are far from finished, and as such are not contributing to the theme development in the way they are ultimately designed to do. While BD has made use in the near past to minimalist, and impressionistic stark white props my assumption (hoping I'm correct) is that that is not the intent this year. I saw changes in the props this week as compared to Family Night last week. I'm fairly certain the props will become much more explicitly literal in the coming weeks. Right now, what I know are supposed to be books, look like anything but, and are more of a distraction than they are an element helping to convey the theme. The same is true of a number of other props. For example, at the closer, guard members are currently seen picking up giant white poles, and judging from their movement are using them to "write" on the field. Once these giant pens are made to look like what they are intended to be, their appropriateness to the theme will be much clearer. In short, some people have indicated that they are struggling to understand BD's theme. At the moment, BD's props are not yet aiding the communication of the show theme along, but I strongly suspect that that will be changing a great deal in the near future. Second, the use and impact of the characters that enter the show from the "books" on the field, do not seem to be as effective as they could be, IMO. My ink-ling is that this will be one of the next things to change. Currently, these characters are too easy to lose track of or miss altogether, which is unfortunate as they are the ones carrying a great deal of the theme forward. In watching last night, my thought was that these characters need much more dramatic and eyecatching costuming or staging in order to get them to standout more and draw people's attention to what they are doing. At the moment, their impact is being diluted and that in turn is making the communication of the show theme less effective. It will be interesting to see how BD develops these two elements in the next few weeks, as I think these elements will play a key role in the ultimate success in BD's getting their theme across to the fans. Until then, I would expect a great number of people to be commenting that they are confused or perplexed by this show. Edited June 22, 2015 by Photographer Jim 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I finally got around to watching this show. I've been able to watch parts of it in snippets during the offseason but this show is a totally different beast when watching it with transitions and all. I have to say, I really didn't like the K-Pop section when I listened to just that section alone. But listening to it in context and WOW it just clicked and the transition made sense. I'm really not sure whose overall show I like best so far. Either Bluecoats, BD, or Cadets. All 3 of them have the best ballads so far too imo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lincoln Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Can someone who might know explain what the Kpop section is about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photographer Jim Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Can someone who might know explain what the Kpop section is about? I'm not sure if I can explain it or not. I have my own ideas about it, but they are just that, my interpretations. Throughout the show, the storybook characters who popped out of the books (the weird rolling props which hopefully will eventually be made to actually look like books) appear to me to momentarily take control of the corps. Example, the black witch makes arm gestures and the surrounding marchers are pulled form their formal march step into running around her as if being pushed and pulled by winds. When the corps is marching to field right, and the Giant arrives (indicated by booming bass hits) the marchers jump and stagger as if the ground beneath them is shaking from the force of the Giant's steps. The characters at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party don't throw tea cups, they randomly throw rifles which the guard must hurry to catch. In the k-pop section, Red Riding Hood momentarily takes control of the brass, has them halt what they are doing, sits on the ground in front of them, and has them dance to entertain her. Why k-pop? Musical variety and contrast? To emphasize that the corps has been pulled from its normal way of doing things by the storybook RRH? This is just my guess, mind you, and I may very well be totally off the mark, but so far it seems reasonable to me. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flammaster Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 I'm not sure if I can explain it or not. I have my own ideas about it, but they are just that, my interpretations. Throughout the show, the storybook characters who popped out of the books (the weird rolling props which hopefully will eventually be made to actually look like books) appear to me to momentarily take control of the corps. Example, the black witch makes arm gestures and the surrounding marchers are pulled form their formal march step into running around her as if being pushed and pulled by winds. When the corps is marching to field right, and the Giant arrives (indicated by booming bass hits) the marchers jump and stagger as if the ground beneath them is shaking from the force of the Giant's steps. The characters at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party don't throw tea cups, they randomly throw rifles which the guard must hurry to catch. In the k-pop section, Red Riding Hood momentarily takes control of the brass, has them halt what they are doing, sits on the ground in front of them, and has them dance to entertain her. Why k-pop? Musical variety and contrast? To emphasize that the corps has been pulled from its normal way of doing things by the storybook RRH? This is just my guess, mind you, and I may very well be totally off the mark, but so far it seems reasonable to me. Very good synopsis! This is a show that requires discussion. That in itself is their prime intent. I love discussing shows and what they might mean. The corps members sitting down to read the books will not make sense until they actually look like books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photographer Jim Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Very good synopsis! This is a show that requires discussion. That in itself is their prime intent. I love discussing shows and what they might mean. The corps members sitting down to read the books will not make sense until they actually look like books. Thanks flammaster! You might know better than I what BD has in mind, but at this point, my comments reflect the direction in which they have taken me so far, right or wrong. To twist a phrase, "With the Devils, its in the details". They have certainly piqued my curiosity, and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what might be revealed as they add and define the details of their show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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