chris ncsu Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Thanks for the review - a lot of great observations here and I tend to agree. Crossmen - a young corps and set of instructors/designs just messing. Probably good they took an easy/familiar idea and will just work it. Yes - a bit bando - but with layering and shaping it can grow until finals. As you say - a lot of individual issues. Minimizing those will be key. I could personally see them placing as high as 10th come finals. Cadets - yes, less is more. It will be interesting to see what key changes they make after the first big meet up of all the corps. It took a series of small additions/subtractions in 2011 to make the program a champion. This year, the corps is a monster. But I agree - key changes and some snips please. Crown - yes, they perform the heck out of it. The guard is crazy good. Drums improved. However - is this it? Not enough visual demand to compete with BD/Cadets/Coats IMO. But the captions are strong - the GE is going to be the big question. And comp scores for visual... I can't speak to this year, but Crown has done very well in visual proficiency in the last 3 years I believe. They tend to march, spin, and toot very well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I can't speak to this year, but Crown has done very well in visual proficiency in the last 3 years I believe. They tend to march, spin, and toot very well. I'm speaking about this year. Sorry if I wasn't clear. They march and spin great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandandl Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 (edited) Yes, some might say the book of Crown's drill is not as thick this year, but the look of how they march what they do do is usually ranked top tier. Edited June 22, 2015 by xandandl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 I was there last night, nice night and good show. It was my first live show of the year, have a few more stacked up but for now, general impression from seats down low Crown did the best with what they had. Their execution across the board was the most solid, great foundation they just need to add some stuff. My favorite show of the night, do I need to say Im not a Crown fan-cow? They marched, played and spun well, Pure Drum Corps in a good way Bluecoats, good show. A bit over-hyped. This is not the future of DCI any more than trampolines were. So let's all chill. Its an effect for their theme for this year's show. In some ways I wanted more electronics but was glad it was still a drum corps show. Was not surprised by drum score at all, they park the drums for a long time, have a bunch of long phrases and spend a lot of field time getting out of the way of the electronic; my take after their run was 'not enough meat to earn a Stanford'. Id say the same for the brass; they give up a lot of playing and demand to make room for their sound effects. Lack of color throughout this show, not much visual pop. Seats were low so tough to read the drill in ensemble but with all the silver propsthings got bland visually. The mixed, hyper color guard cancels itself out and becomes a wash too. Second favorite of the night Cadets, love their book, best music of the night, most left to clean. They had majoring spacing problems throughout. The 10 theme is a bit too forced with the back banners, counting and flag... less would be more, can Cadets even do subtle? And why addition when its the power of 10, ya know 10 to the forth power? Id lose it though, it felt too Crown (copy-cat). Good structure overall, could really see the show was written to the sheets and the borg in its early formfelt like they were ticking boxes for GE and then having Cadets do their Cadet moveshoping this disappears as they clean and get some flow to the show, expect to like this show more as it progresses. Cavies, better than the early reports not as good as the score, cool horn book but it needs a lot of work. Towards the end on some of the simpler stuff..stick-outs galore but it was nice that it was mainly the tubas crashing the blend, that almost never happens. The trombones were very farty, thought the speaker was clipping, not sure it wasnt. They play most their difficult brass stuff standing still then run around, park to blast out a phrase, runpark, so.... Guard got lost. Undecided on this show, could go either way, we'll see BAC; burned a lot of the good will they developed from me the last few years. The show looks like a black mass but not in a good way, they were dark and clumped together, lacking definition and purpose. Amps were way too loud, the keyboards obliterated the horns to the point I had a difficult time telling what they were playing, Some rather pointless coat racks were moved around a bunch...and...and... This show took me back to the days of BAC that I didnt enjoy, the Picasso show era Crossmen, on air 2 but not reallya lot of individual playing problems in the brass that seem to disappear when they did their park and blow. Too much paper planes, the kites seemed out of synch with the other stuff on the field at the time a bunch of little misses on ideas that could have been better if done a little differently. This show seem very young as far as, design it was very bando, it looked like a high school marching band (a very good one) so if thats youre thing, youll love it. Colts, missed you, got there late, blame my ride Great view and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Cadets have more than a few blanks due to injuries. That may have affected their intervals I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tobias Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 There is actually a lot of truth to this. 1. Yes, Bluecoats use electronics really well. They have a formula for how to use them, and yes they find cool ways to use them that captivate people. But this show will have its' detractors. This is really modern. This is the MOST modern show I've seen. For me, I LOVE it. 2. For all the greatness of the Cadets from a sheer brass, percussion, drill, marching, guard, and overall performance aspect, they have struggled with electronics up front, with narration at times (I did like last year until the end of the show), with singing, with props even. 2011 was as close as they have come to being modern with electronics (which were mostly used for atmospheric effects, which is largely what Bloo does). Despite good shows, and some great music, in 2012, 2013, 2014, they have found ways to muck them up just a little, and maybe a lot (as with the ending of last year's show). - Aside from BD, The Cadets are maybe the only other corps that can power their way into the top 3 with their brass, percussion, guard, great drill and great music. I think that's mostly what they are doing this year until they can get better at the electronics. - also, I will say I heard they bought a new sound system, so that's a good sign. It's a major investment. Other corps should also take note. If you don't make the investment in quality equipment and time to learn about outdoor audio engineering and mixing process, it's probably better to stay away. 3. Is obvious. The Cadets always get criticized a bit more because of their outspoken director, and in part because they have won a lot of shows, regional championships, titles, and more. Life at the top is not fair. BD knows all about that. 4. This is definitely what BLOOO does. They have a cool factor largely due to their style of presentation (less symphonic and military) and the music they play. 5. Not sure about this one, but yes, if the corps is not threatening to the big boys then you hear fewer complaints on this forum. Agreed. Cadets should stick to what they do well and slowly incorporate the electronic effects since they are weak in that area along with props. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Dixon Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Yes, some might say the book of Crown's drill is not as thick this year, but the look of how they march what they do do is usually ranked top tier. Go back and watch their 2012 program... the drop off is incredible. 2013 was scaled back somewhat. Frankly the music this year doesn't lend itself to a frantic drill - but it may hurt them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 (edited) Go back and watch their 2012 program... the drop off is incredible. 2013 was scaled back somewhat. Frankly the music this year doesn't lend itself to a frantic drill - but it may hurt them. Agreed. In my opinion, 2012 Crown was the peak of Crown's brilliance. 2013 may have been the show that finally was able to kick BD off, but that 2012 show was killer both in difficulty and achievement. I feel like Crown is taking it safe this year. I still like their show this year though. Edited June 22, 2015 by Cappybara 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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